A Few Year's Difference
by skittlesmomma27
Summary: Watch as Bella's life takes some dramatic and scary turns over the course of four years. All of the normal couples are here and Edward plays a big part in this story. If any of you are pro-Charlie fans this would not be the story for you unfortunately. This is a repost.
1. Chapter 1

**I understand that this is technically a repost but I have changed a lot of things up over the past few weeks so it would be recommended that you reread the whole thing over again as a lot of the minor details have been changed up a little to make it flow better.**

**The chapter are going to be a little bit shorter but I will be posting every three days and as of this moment I already have 18 chapters finished up so the posting schedule should stick even through the holidays. I hope you like the new and improved version of this story. The chapters are roughly between 2k and 3k words.**

**I will not be writing anymore lengthy A/N's unless a review or message needs to be addressed because I want this story to be about the story and not about my life and what is going on in it because frankly we all have things that happen in our lives.**

**I will not be posting disclaimers at the beginning of each chapter. This one big one should suffice throughout the length of the story.**

**Disclaimer: These characters do NOT belong to me except for the ones I make up on my own. This setting DOES belong to me. Stephanie Meyers is the creative brain behind these characters, not me, so no copyright infringement is intended.**

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Chapter 1 (2269)

BPOV

"Baby, are you okay?" Edward asked as he wiped my forehead with a cool damp cloth trying to soothe me the best he could.

I scowled at him. "In no way is that a smart question, Masen." I snapped at him as yet another contraction gripped my stomach causing me to clench my teeth and grip the bed sheets tightly in my hands.

Rosalie and Alice chuckled from the other side of my bed. "Edward, you might want to watch what you say if you want your balls at the end of this." Rosalie quipped as she rubbed my protruding taught stomach soothingly.

"Bella, do you want me to get Ma again?" Alice asked as she patted my hand once I released the sheets.

I nodded and took a few deep calming breaths as I thought about the changes that the past three years had brought upon me. "I think it's time."

_Almost four years ago… _

A knock on the front door drug me from my lunch that I was scarfing down before going back to work. I had a ranch to run since my father is dying and is unable to run it anymore. I yanked open the front door with a scowl on my face. "Can I help you?" I snapped at the model thin blonde that looked severely out of place in her skin tight jeans, silk top and high heels. If I was anybody else I would be intimidated by her looks alone but this was my house and property.

She blew a bubble with her bubble gum, smacked her lips, and flipped her curled hair over her shoulder before answering me. "Is this the residence of Charles Swan?" She asked snootily.

"Who's asking?" I asked as I braced my hand against the solid wood door of the home I had grown up in.

She rolled her eyes and cocked her hip forward bracing all of her weight on her back foot in an irritated stance. "His daughter. He requested that I show up here today to get my inheritance. I don't know why the bastard would want to give me anything now when he's never gave me anything since I was born." She said angrily.

I laughed and shook my head. "I'm his only child and he is on his deathbed, so this is a very bad time to be playing jokes like this on people." I told her as I slammed the door in her face.

I walked back to my fathers' room intent on getting to the bottom of this story. "Charlie?" I question as I stood beside his bed. He was dying of liver failure from all the drinking he had done over the years.

"What do you want, Isabella?" He snapped at me without even bothering to open his eyes.

I sighed and nudged the side of his bed to further wake him up so that I would have his full attention. He huffed and puffed but finally opened his yellowing eyes and glared at me. I hated to say it but it was kind of poetic justice that he was too weak to slap at me or beat me anymore. I had dealt with that shit all my life, so had my half-brother Jasper.

Our mother had met Charlie when she was a waitress in our small town of Lassiter, Wyoming, Jasper was 8 when they had met and she had quickly become pregnant with me. Unfortunately she died giving birth to me so not only was Charlie stuck raising a baby that he never really wanted but he was also stuck raising Jasper. He never let either of us forget it either.

"There is a woman at the door claiming to be your daughter and that you told her to come here." I told him as I glared at his form lying in the bed.

He sighed. "Yeah, so what?"

I shook my head; just like him never answer anything directly. "Is she your daughter? Did you demand she come here today?" I asked him kicking the side of his bed gently to make sure he was still awake.

He snapped his yellow angry eyes at me and glared at me. "Yes, Isabella, she is my daughter and I did demand her to come today. At least she listens." He said as he rolled over and pulled the blanket back over his head.

I sighed and left the room only to hear voices coming from the kitchen so I headed that way. I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the blonde from the front door sitting on my barstool chatting with Esme, our housekeeper and my mother for all intents and purposes. "What's going on, Ma?" I asked Esme as I propped my jean clad form against the counter.

Esme came and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Bella, I would like for you to meet your sister, Rosalie Hale." She said as she gestured towards Rose who was sipping on a cup of coffee.

I sighed and nodded at Rose. "How come I never knew she existed?" I asked Esme as Rosalie and I sized each other up.

Esme sighed. "It wasn't my place to say anything as long as Charlie was alive. Rosalie's mother was Miss Elsie Hale from Las Vegas; Charlie met her while on a cattle convention out there and brought her home. Needless to say that Charlie's lie began to unravel once he got her here and she left about six months after she got here but she was about four months pregnant when she left. She refused to raise her baby around such a man as Charlie." Esme explained.

Rosalie nodded. "Don't feel bad, I didn't know about you either." Rose said with a smirk on her face.

I nodded in understanding. "Why are you here though? Why now?" I questioned as I leaned into Esme for support.

Rosalie shrugged. "I'm not sure, really. My mom received a letter in the mail last week demanding my appearance at this address on this day from my sperm donor. Here I have the letter since you obviously don't believe me." She said as she dug in her huge purse that I hadn't seen when she was at the front door.

"I'm sorry but you wouldn't be the first person showing up here trying to claim to be one of Charlie's illegitimate children." I spat at her as I took the piece of paper she held out to me.

Esme stepped in. "Isabella Swan, you know better than to act like that towards a guest in this house."

I scanned over the legal document from Charlie's attorney, Jason Jenks. It looked real and I knew that J. Jenks was Charlie's lawyer, he had been spending a lot of time locked in the room with Charlie for the past few months.

_Dear Miss Hale,_

_This letter is being sent to you per the orders of your biological father, Charles Swan, requesting your presence. Mr. Swan has requested that you show up on September, 13, 2007 to 13 Swan Lane, Lassiter, Wyoming 98734. This is regarding your inheritance and the death of your father. Please do not dally as he doesn't have long to live._

_Sincerely, _

_Mr. Jason Jenks,_

_Representation for one Mr. Charles D. Swan_

"Okay so apparently you are his daughter and I am your sister." I told her as I handed her the piece of paper back. "It figures he would pick today of all days for you to show up." I told her with a roll of my eyes.

Rosalie nodded. "Oh he's always known I was his daughter but he's just never contacted me, and why is today so special?" She questioned as she stuck the letter back in her mountain of a purse.

I sighed. "It's my 24th birthday and the anniversary of my mother's death." I snapped as I pushed myself off the counter grabbing my hat off the counter where I had put it when I had come inside for lunch. "I've got work to do. Ma, can you please show Little Miss Sunshine here to Charlie so she can find out what he wants?" I asked as I kissed her on the cheek on my way to the back door.

She sighed and nodded. "Sure thing, sweetheart. Give Carlisle a kiss for me." She said as I ducked out the door headed for the barn. Just as I was about to duck inside the barn to saddle up my horse I spotted a car creeping down the driveway. I didn't recognize the car and that was strange since only a handful of people lived down it and they were all family or considered family.

I sighed and headed for the driveway instead of inside the barn. "Bella!" Jasper called when he saw I wasn't heading in the barn.

I stopped and turned around as he jogged up to me with his gangly walk. "What's up?" I asked him when he was within hearing distance.

"Who was the blonde standing on the front porch earlier?" He asked as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided us towards the front yard and driveway.

I laughed out loud. "Apparently that is our long lost sister that Charlie decided to bring out here for some inheritance." I told him as we came to a stop at the bottom doorstep to wait on the person to get out of the car that had pulled to a stop in the driveway behind Rosalie's obviously rented car.

"Really? I didn't know Charlie had any more children. Thank god they got away unlike…." His voice trailed off as a pixie like woman climbed from her little dark blue compact Impala.

I laughed because his mouth was gaping as we looked at the small dwarf like woman. She was beautiful and had a kind smile as she walked our way. She had short black hair that was spiked up all over her head in a stylish way and was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a canary yellow ruffled top with leather knee high boots over her jeans. "Are you Isabella?" She asked in a perky voice as she approached us.

I nodded. "I am, and you are?" I asked as I nudged Jasper in his ribs to get him to close his mouth since he was openly gaping at what I presumed was another sister.

Alice giggled. "I am Alice Brandon, your sister apparently." She said as she shocked me by pulling me into a hug. She was strong for such a small thing.

I laughed once she released me. "Let me guess. You got a letter from Jason Jenks demanding you be here today at this address?" I said as I linked arms with Jasper to drag him along with me.

She nodded quickly before quirking her head to the side. "How did you know that?"

I laughed and headed back towards the house with her trailing behind us. "Follow me." I told her as I headed us around the house to the main front door instead of the kitchen entrance I had just come out of. "Oh, you are not the only one that got that letter apparently." I told her as I stopped at the bottom of the steps that led up to the beautiful rustic front porch. "Jasper, grab her luggage will you. I have a feeling she will be staying awhile." I told him shocking him out of his trance.

Alice's twinkle laughter echoed around us. "It's in the trunk, sexy; the button is in the glove box." She told him as she tossed him her keys and a face splitting grin.

He chuckled nervously as he caught the keys mid-air. "Yes, ma'am." He said as he tipped his hat to us before going to grab Alice's luggage from her car.

I shook my head at his exaggerated southern drawl that still came out at times. He hadn't lived in Texas since he was five years old but he said that the ladies found the accent sexy. Apparently that was true since Alice nearly swooned at the sound of it.

I cleared my throat to get her attention and she snapped her face to mine with pink tinted cheeks. "Sorry about that. Who is he?" She asked as she fell into step beside me as we slowly ascended the steps onto the wood planked front porch.

"That's my brother, Jasper, and he's single." I informed her as we came to a stop in front of the blood red door that had wrought iron covered glass piece that ran down the middle of the door. I took a deep breath before opening the door to my childhood home.

"Ma!" I called out as I shut the door behind myself as Alice surveyed the living room. It was comfortable and elegant all at the same time. The only thing that stood out amongst all the furniture and decorations was the old ratty recliner that Charlie refused to let us throw out. People had been asking me for years why I didn't move out or get my own house since Charlie and I rarely got along. It was simple. I deserved this house after all the bullshit I had had to put up with over my lifetime. I had done some redecorating and remodeling when Charlie was out of the state at one of his many cattle conventions a few years ago so it didn't look anything like it did when I was a kid.

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**So...what did you guys think? Not much changed here.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (2330)

When I wasn't out on the ranch working, I was in my room which was my sanctuary. "How many times have I told you Bella Marie, do not yell in this house?" Esme said with a smile on her face as she and Rosalie walked into the living room. "Well, who do we have here?" She asked when she spotted Alice.

I laughed. "Apparently another long lost child." I told her as I looked between Rosalie, Alice, and myself. We didn't look anything alike except for our eyes. We all had Charlie's golden brown eyes. "Ma, this is Alice Brandon. Alice this is Esme Cullen." I introduced them.

Esme got tears in her eyes as she pulled Alice into a hug. "Oh, Alice, you have grown into such a beautiful young lady. You look just like you mother did last time she was here." She gushed and Alice just giggled as she hugged Esme back.

"I take it you knew about her too?" I asked as I leaned against the rock fireplace that was the focus point in the living room.

Esme nodded sheepishly. "Alice actually lived here when she was a baby, that's how Charlie had all that baby stuff when you were born. Her mother is Judith Brandon from California, after baby Alice was born Charlie turned resentful because the baby was taking too much of Judy's time. Judy only put up with it for about four months before she took baby Alice and left while Charlie went to Vegas for a cattle convention where he met Rosalie's mother." Esme explained as she looked between all three of us girls.

I sighed. "That's nice. Are there any more that you know about but have neglected to tell me about?" I snapped at her. I was irritated beyond belief but the hurt that entered her eyes at my attitude instantly made me feel bad. "Sorry, Ma. I just have a lot of stuff that needs to be done and I don't want to leave it all to the guys." I told her honestly.

She nodded. "To answer your question, no. These are the only two that I knew about but it wasn't my place to tell you about them. Charlie threatened to fire both Carlisle and myself if I told you about any of it." She said in a sad voice.

I nodded and went to her side and wrapped her in my arms for a comforting hug. "It's okay, ma, I still love you." I whispered into her hair as I kissed the top of her head.

Carlisle and Esme had shown me what loving and proud parents were like while Charlie showed me what a resentful and hateful parent was like. "I love you too, sweetheart." She said as she pulled away from me with a smile on her face.

"Can you handle these two? I really need to get back to work." I practically begged her.

She nodded knowing that not only did I really need to get back to work; I needed time to myself to process. "Absolutely. Are you guys repairing the fence up in the north pasture where that tree fell?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. We plan to move the cows up there next week. It won't be long and we will have to start laying hay out for them. We are trying to let them graze all the pastures down before it snows." I explained as Jasper walked through the front door loaded down with hot pink luggage.

I rolled my eyes. "How long are you planning to stay, Alice?" I asked as I eyed the amount of luggage my brother was carrying.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I would like to get to know you before I leave. I don't have anything pressing going on at the moment. I'm a website designer so I can do that from anywhere as long as I have internet access." She said with a smile on her face. "You do have internet access here, don't you?" She asked as she looked around and out the window at all the trees and rolling hills.

I laughed. "Yes, Alice. We have internet here. Wireless internet actually." I told her as I headed for the front door. I paused with my hand on the doorknob and turned around to face them. "Rosalie, how long are you planning to stay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Only long enough to get my inheritance. Trust me I do not plan on staying in nowhere Wyoming for very long." She said as she twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers.

I nodded. "Great. Have you talked to Charlie yet?" I asked as I crossed my arms across my chest.

She nodded. "For a minute. What a hateful old bastard." She said bitterly.

I laughed. "Welcome to my world, Sunshine." I told her as I opened the door and walked out without another word.

I headed straight for the barn and my horse, Gypsy. Charlie had given me Gypsy when I was about five years old because I had complained about being bored one day and he figured if I had a fulltime job taking care of a horse I wouldn't be bored anymore. I have raised him from just a foal, all on my own. We kind of grew up together. He was a beautiful black and white Clydesdale horse with beautiful white hair on all four feet. I walked to his stall and smiled when he immediately stuck his head over the stall door. His mane was both black and white; the upper portion was black while the bottom half was white. He stood almost 22 hands high so it took some effort to get up on him if he didn't know you or like you. It was a chore just to saddle him but I had been doing it since I was a little girl so it was no big deal for me and he usually helped me by kneeling down. "Hey, boy." I told him as I opened his stall door.

I hooked two ropes to Gypsy and went about tacking him up and slinging my saddle across his tall back. I kissed him gently on the nose as I slid the bit into his mouth. "You're a good boy aren't you?" I asked him as I fastened everything to his head and tossed the reins over his head and looped them around the horn of the saddle.

I slipped him a cut up apple that I always had handy when I was coming for a visit. "You ready to work, big boy?" I asked him as I put my foot in the stirrup and gripped a handful of his mane so I could hoist myself up.

Once I was up I grabbed the reins in my hands and gently nudged him towards the pasture that we needed to repair the fences in. Buckshot, the dog that Carlisle and Esme had given me when I was 15 ran alongside Gypsy and I as we headed out for the north pasture.

A few hours later we had cut and cleared the tree off the fence and I was busy repairing the broken wire by myself when a piece slipped out of my hands and caught my leg causing me to scream out in pain and surprise. "Ow! Dammit." I said to no one in particular as I grabbed the piece of fencing and finished nailing the barbed wire to the fence post it had fallen off of.

Repairing fences was a tedious and time consuming job and that is what I needed right now to get my mind off of the two women currently at the house with Esme and Charlie. I didn't know what inheritance they were going to get because there was only a little over 500 grand in the ranch's bank account and that was needed for feed and supplies throughout the coming winter months. The only things around here worth anything was the house, cattle, horses, and the land and I would roll over and die before I let them take any of that.

He may have been a drunk and a mean bastard at times, but he had instilled hard ethics in me and working hard on this ranch was one of those things and I would be damned if all my hard work went to two women who I didn't even know existed before a few hours ago. I hated the cattle portion of the ranch but it is what raked in the money and Charlie wouldn't even dare think of doing anything else with the place. Even while I was in school I had to get up at 5 in the mornings to go feed the animals in the barn before I could leave for school. I had been introduced to the manure pile when I was eight as punishment for bringing home a 'c' on my report card.

Once I had the string nailed in place I laid my hammer on top of the post, tugged my gloves off and stacked them on top of my hammer before I unbuckled my belt so I could drop my pants and check on the scratch from the wire. It was old rusty wire and an infection is the last thing I needed right now. I quickly dropped my pants so I could inspect the wound. I was relieved when I saw that it had barely broken the skin.

I whistled for Gypsy and he galloped to a stop in front of me with Buckshot right on his heels. I reached into my saddle bag and pulled out the bottle of water I always carried with me. I quickly cleaned the wound and went to put the bottle back in the saddle bag when a voice from behind me caught my attention and caused me to drop it.

"Now that's not a sight I see every day anymore, Bella." Edward Masen himself said from atop one of his working horses.

Edward lived on the neighboring ranch and was always showing up unannounced all over the ranch despite the multitude of times I had told him he wasn't welcome. He had inherited the ranch from his grandparents when they passed away a few years ago. He had lived there all his life as he was raised by his grandparents when his parents died when he was only 8 years old. We had been best friends since we were six years old and had dated for almost six years in high school and college. But Charlie hadn't wanted me to go away for college so I settled and went to the Community College in town while Edward had a full ride scholarship to UCLA. He had taken it. We had tried to make the long distance thing work but it failed and failed big time. He didn't have the money to fly home all the time and things got tense so we decided to break it off. When he came home two years later he brought his new girlfriend with him, Tanya, and it shattered my heart into a million pieces. He kept trying to win back my love and affection and so far I had successfully fielded all of his attempts.

I gasped and quickly pulled up my pants before turning to face him. The one thing girly about me was my underwear. Esme had always said that I could be a rugged tough cowgirl on the outside but the inside needed to show my femininity. So when I was a teenager she had introduced me to Victoria's Secret and that was my secret addiction now. I had several drawers full of lacy frilly undergarments and besides Esme and myself, Edward was the only other person that knew they existed. "It wasn't meant for you to see, Masen." I snapped at him as I quickly fastened my pants and belt back together.

He just grinned and dismounted his horse which looked like a colt compared to Gypsy but our horses got along great unlike their owners. "Are you hurt badly, Bella?" He asked as he walked up to me and took my elbows in his hands.

"I'm fine." I snapped at him and jerked my arms away from him. I slipped my gloves on and grabbed my hammer as I headed to the next fence post. He grabbed the wired and pulled it tight for me. "And I don't need your help." I snapped at him as I tried to take the fence out of his hands. He held tight and just smiled at me.

I begrudgingly nailed the staple in place while he held the wire for me. "Thanks, Edward." I told him after we had nailed the strand in place. All of the fence repairs were officially done. Buckshot chose that moment to start barking erratically from a dilapidated old feed shed that we still used during the winter. "Buckshot, come!" I called to him and then whistled which usually got his attention.

This time it didn't work as was still standing in front of the shed barking erratically. Edward and I walked over to him and I gasped at what we saw.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered to Edward as I grabbed Buckshot's collar and tugged him back away from the feed shed that contained my worst nightmare.

He grabbed my hand and tugged me behind him when we reached our horses. "We are going to get on our horses and head away from here and hope that she doesn't attack us." He said quietly while reaching for his rifle but keeping me behind him.

In the shed was a mother cougar and three little ones and she was currently growling at us as we climbed on our horses. "Buckshot, come!" I hollered as we eased off the small hill that was the point of the north pasture.


	3. Chapter 3

**So...I don't know if any of you are interested but I have created a website that will have accompanying pictures for various things throughout the story. The link can be found on my profile. **

**Here is a surprise chapter to let the good folks throughout the world know about the pictures.**

**Thanks guys for the reviews that I have gotten.**

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Chapter 3 (2509)

We galloped back to the ranch side by side with Buckshot running between Aladdin and Gypsy constantly looking over our shoulders to make sure the momma cougar wasn't following us back to the main ranch. Gypsy and I trotted right up to the hands as they stood around one of the corrals where our newest foal, White Chocolate, and her momma, White Lightening, were getting some outside time. "Hey guys, we have a big problem." I said as I pulled Gypsy to a stop beside them. They all turned to smile gently at me. The hands consisted of Jasper, my brother, Carlisle, Esme's husband and my surrogate father, and Jacob, an Indian that had been here since he was sixteen.

"What's that, Bella?" Carlisle asked as he took the reins from me so he could hold Gypsy still. I slid out of the saddle and once my feet were firmly on the ground I looked up at him with caution in my eyes. "We have a momma cougar and her cubs up in the north pasture feed shed. We aren't going to be able to put our cattle up there like we planned." I told him in a rush.

Carlisle nodded and handed me back the reins. "We can move them to the far south pasture for the time being. It hasn't been grazed in a few weeks and should hold them over until the momma cougar and cubs leave the feed shed." He said as he tugged me under his arm with a shoulder over my arm. "Happy birthday, sweetheart." He whispered into my hair quietly. I had never made a big deal out of my birthdays since I normally spent them working. Charlie had always said that my birthday was just a reminder of how long he had been stuck with me since I killed my mother as I came into this world.

I nodded. "Okay, we need to do that first thing in the morning." I told him as I hugged him quickly before turning to face Edward who had gotten off of his horse. "You can go home now Masen, everything here is fine and dandy. Nothing of interest for you here." I told him as I led Gypsy into the barn so I could un-tack him and brush him down for the night.

He actually had the gall to follow me into the barn. "You are of interest for me here, Isabella and today is your special day. I heard that you now have two sisters. Can I meet them?" He said softly as he grabbed a brush from the bucket so he could help brush down Gypsy once I had his saddle and blanket off.

I groaned. "They are up at the house with Esme. You can go meet them, say hello to Charlie and be on your way. Today is just another day and you know that." I told him over my shoulder as I carried my saddle to the tack room.

After I wasted a few minutes in the tack room I walked back out hoping that he had gotten the hint, but when I rounded the corner I groaned because he was there washing down Gypsy for me. "What do you think you are doing, Masen?" I asked him as I grabbed a brush and began helping him groom my horse.

"Washing down your horse, Bella." He said as he sprayed me with the hose. I gasped and looked at him in shock. "And you."

"What in the hell is your problem?" I seethed at him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Trying to lighten you up, Bella, it's your birthday and you are having to deal with not only Charlie's bullshit but also two sisters you never even knew existed." He said as he sprayed me again.

I had had enough and charged him trying to get the hose from him but all I ended up doing was knocking us down. He grabbed me by instinct as he went to fall and I ended up sprawled on top of him, straddling his hips. "That is none of your business anymore, Edward, you lost that right. Years ago." I reminded him.

He nodded and had the audacity to look sad. "I know I did, baby, but I still love you and you know that. I have always made your birthdays special for you and this one is no different. Happy Birthday, my love." He whispered to me softly as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and stroked the side of my face.

I shook my head and sat us by pushing against his firm chest. "Don't." I whispered to him as I sat up straight. I gasped when I felt something hard beneath me as my hips became flush with his. I smirked when he groaned out loud. "Edward Masen, I do believe you have a problem here." I told him as I pressed my hips down onto his. It had been way too long since we had been this close, this intimate and it was wreaking havoc on my defenses.

He groaned and gripped my hips in his work roughened hands. He trained horses for other people and his hands showed it. I had always loved his hands. "Isabella Swan, I have had a problem since I was thirteen years old and got my head out of my ass. But it just got a firsthand glance at your bright pink lacy underwear that you are hiding underneath these skin tight jeans you love to torture me with."

I gasped and pushed up off of him by placing my hands on his firm chest. Again. This time I may have flexed my fingers against his muscles. "I am not torturing or teasing anybody. Especially not you." I told him angrily.

He just winked at me as he sat up suddenly which caused me to lose my balance and grasp his shoulders to keep from falling backwards. "I think you know exactly what you are doing, baby, and all this anger is just a façade you are trying to pull off to protect yourself. I will break through all your damned defenses one day, Isabella." He said firmly just before he sealed his lips to mine in a bruising passionate kiss.

My lips parted of their own volition and our tongues tangled together passionately. I tightened my arms around his neck and pulled myself a little closer to him and rocked over the impressive erection that was pressing against me in the most delicious way. I had missed being this intimate with anyone. No. Not just anyone. With Edward. With my soul mate.

"Bella?" Carlisle called from the barn entrance.

I pulled away suddenly and gasped as I tried to catch my breath. "I hate you." I seethed at Edward as I scrambled to my feet glaring at him the entire time.

He just laughed at me as he pulled himself from the ground quickly tugging my arm until I was back flush against him. This time, at least, we were standing. He grasped my hips in his hands and pulled my pelvis flush against his. "Façade, Bella, it's all a façade but it's still sexy as hell." He said as he pecked me on the lips before turning around and picked up the water hose that had started all of this to begin with and started rolling it up.

I stamped my foot like a little girl as I rounded the corner to catch Carlisle before he could get any ideas. "I'm back here, Pop." I called to him. "What's up?" I asked him when he came within sight.

He laughed when he saw us. "What have you two been up to back there?" He asked between chuckles as he surveyed the damage done by the water hose and my now partially dry horse.

I groaned out loud. "This idiot sprayed me with the water hose and I tackled his ass." I told him with a smile on my face as I pointed to Edward as he turned the water off and began packing the brushes back into the box.

"Happy Birthday, Isabella." Edward whispered in my ear as he headed out of the barn. "Goodnight, Carlisle." He called over his shoulders.

He nodded with a smirk on his face before looking at my soaked clothes. "You know, sweetheart, I was born at night but it wasn't last night. You and that boy have been going round and round for years. Ever since he came back and dumped that blonde bimbo. When are you going to forgive him?" He said with a smile on his face as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I gasped. "I can't stand even the sight of that idiot, pa. He broke my heart years ago and I don't want to give it back to him for a second go round." I told him honestly as I let him guide me out of the barn.

"I know sweetheart but you are still in love with that boy and everybody knows it. Your ma just called and said dinner was ready and that it was time for you to come and celebrate." Carlisle said as we exited the barn.

"I don't feel like celebrating, pa, I really don't." I told him as I sent pleading looks to Jasper and Jacob for help and understanding. I didn't get any.

They both shook their heads as they led White Lightening back into her stall with her foal dutifully following. "Nobody says no to Esme, and you have two sisters to get to know." Jasper told me as he closed the stall door behind the horses.

I nodded knowingly and snuggled further into Carlisle's side, kind of scared of going to dinner. "It will be okay, Bella. You just have to make the best of the situation." He told me as we all headed towards the house.

"Jake, you coming to dinner?" I asked him as he lagged behind us.

He shook his head. "Nope. Got a big date tonight. Have fun and happy birthday." He said as he headed for his pickup truck that sat in the driveway. He lived in one of the four houses that were scattered along the property. Jasper lived in one that he had built from the money he had earned while working on the ranch. Carlisle and Esme lived in what used to be the main ranch house back in the late 1800's early 1900's. Charlie's father had built the house I had grown up in when Charlie was just a little kid. Carlisle and Esme had completely remodeled the house and it was absolutely amazing. They lived less than a quarter mile behind what is now the main ranch house. The other house has been empty for as long as I can remember. I don't remember anybody ever living in that house. Charlie used it for the ranch hands that he hired during the busy seasons but other than that it remained empty.

"Bye Jake!" We all called to him as we walked onto the porch and sat down in various chairs, rockers, and benches to take off our work boots so we wouldn't dirty up the house with horse or cow manure.

Jasper cleared his throat as he sat his beside his sock clad feet. "So, your sisters aren't technically any kin to me since I'm not Charlie's son, are they?" He asked quietly as he sat back in his rocking chair and looked out over the property that we had spent all our lives on.

I laughed as I sat my boots in beside his. "Obvious much, Jazz?" I chuckled as wiggled my toes in newfound freedom.

Carlisle just watched us curiously but quietly.

Jasper just shrugged. "She's cute and different. I like her." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Go for it, but she may not stay." I warned him as I stood up grabbing my boots before heading inside. "Let's get this over and done with." I told them as they followed me inside.

We found Esme and my new 'sisters' in the kitchen chatting up a storm. "Ma, Whatcha fixing?" I asked as I slid onto my barstool.

She turned around and scowled at me causing to hold my hands up in apology. "Stupid question, I know, just trying to strike conversation. Stuffed chicken enchiladas with your famous white queso sauce over the top. Chocolate lasagna for dessert." I rattled off my requested birthday dinner for the past twenty years like it was second nature.

Alice looked at me in amazement. "How did you know that was what she was making?" She asked from her perch on the other end of the island.

The kitchen was one of mine and Esme's masterpieces. The kitchen was one of the big remodel jobs I had done while Charlie was away. It had turned out absolutely beautiful. It had dark cherry wood cabinets that provided ample storage with a matching buffet table and china hutch that sat in the adjoining dining room. The cabinets were covered with beautiful green blue and grey countertops that was set off by the glass tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances. It had been my dream kitchen for as long as I could remember and I spared no expense when remodeling it. The bar that we were all sitting at was the main attraction in the kitchen and was absolutely huge with a nearly four foot width and nearly six feet in length, it sat us all comfortably.

Jasper and I both had inherited a pretty amount of money when we turned twenty-one from a life insurance our mother had that Charlie didn't know about. I had put my money into this house to make it into my dream house since it would eventually be mine.

"It's my birthday and that is what I always get." I told them with a shrug of my shoulders as I stood up from my barstool. "I'm going to take a shower and change clothes since I got doused with water by the biggest idiot in the world." I told them as I turned to walk down the hall to my second masterpiece. My bedroom and bathroom. I had joined mine and Jasper's childhood bedrooms into my bedroom suite with and entrance that led outside also in case of emergencies on the ranch. Charlie's bedroom was on the other side of the house and always had been. He would have been none the wiser of the change except I had completely eliminated Jasper's door to the hallway and had a massive solid oak door installed on my bedroom door to keep Charlie out when he was rampaging.

I quickly stripped off my clothes and hopped in the glass enclosed shower that had an overhead rain shower head. I quickly finished my shower before brushing my waist length hair and throwing on some comfortable relaxing clothes before joining everybody else back in the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4 (2675)

"ISABELLA!" Charlie's yell echoed into the kitchen where we were trying to have dinner. I groaned and hung my head but pushed myself away from the table to head towards his bedroom.

"Bella, you shouldn't have to deal with him. Not today." Esme told me with a hand on my arm.

I shrugged. "It's okay, Ma, it's just another day, another reminder." I told her as I had been told by him all my life.

She shook her head. "It is a day to celebrate not regret. Your mother wouldn't want that and you know it." She said firmly.

I nodded. "I know, Ma. It's okay." I told her as I squeezed her shoulder and left the kitchen.

Rosalie and Alice surprised me when they called out to me. "Wait, Bella, we are coming too. He's been avoiding us all day. It's time to present a united front for a change." Alice said as she placed a hand on my shoulder in support of dealing with 'our' father.

"You shouldn't have to deal with his cruelty alone on your birthday." Rosalie said as she placed her hand on my other shoulder.

They had no idea how cruel he could be but I knew by first-hand experience just how cruel he could be with just words alone. "You guys don't have to do this. You can try to talk to him again after dinner is finished." I told them sincerely. They both seemed like nice girls, albeit Rosalie seemed a little stuck up but she was at least friendly and sympathetic.

Rosalie shook her head with her blonde locks flying around her head. "Nope, he has refused to talk to us all afternoon so now is as good of a time as any." She said as we headed down the hall to where his room was located.

We stalked into his room as a united sisterly group but my steps faltered as I saw Charlie leaning back against his headboard looking like he was close to death. "Charlie, I would like for you to meet your daughters, Rosalie Hale." I said gesturing to Rosalie. "And Alice Brandon." I said squeezing Alice's hand tightly in mine to show my support.

Charlie just grunted. "It's about damned time you two got here." He snapped before going into a coughing fit.

I rolled my eyes and went to his bedside to hand him a Kleenex to wipe from around his mouth once he was done coughing. I handed him the Kleenex and his cup of water that we kept beside his bed. "Be nice, Charlie, you requested for them to be here and now they are here." I growled at him as I handed him his glass of water so I could dig his tray of pills out of his nightstand. "Take your pills." I told him as I shoved them towards him.

He begrudgingly took them from me and chucked them into his mouth before taking a huge gulp of water to swallow them. "Get out." He told me harshly as he tossed the plastic cup at me.

I shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere. You can say whatever it is you need to say to them in front of me." I told him as I stepped back between Rosalie and Alice.

"Fine. Get me the envelope from off my desk that Jenks left there." He said in a rough voice.

Alice went and grabbed the thick manila envelope from the desk and went to hand it to him. "Here, Mr. Swan." She said quietly.

He just huffed and snatched the folder from her hands. I rolled my eyes at his antics.

Alice just flitted back to my side like it hadn't even fazed her. "I'm going to die soon and everybody knows it. The only thing I have to my name is this ranch and the things on it. Since you are all creations of my seed spreading I feel it only fair that you each get a portion of it all. It is to be all divvied up equally between the three of you after the hands and workers get what they are getting." He said as he pulled out three stacks of papers and held them out to us.

We all walked forward together and grabbed a stack of the papers he held out to us. Tears pricked the back of my eyelids at knowing that everything I had worked my ass of for and suffered through for was being given to my sisters who had never turned their hands to do a damn thing around here. "What's the catch?" I whispered as I roughly wiped the angry tears away. Nothing was ever this simple when it came to Charlie and his shenanigans.

"You have to live together on this ranch for two consecutive years from the day of my funeral." He said with a smile on his face.

Alice smiled and Rosalie gasped in shock. "You can't be serious!" She exclaimed loudly.

I was seething inside by this point. "Charlie you can't be serious! They have lives at home. You can't honestly expect them to drop their lives for two whole years just because you have a wild hair up your ass." I was practically screaming at him by now.

Alice put a calming hand on my shoulder and spoke in a calm voice. "It's okay, Bella, I don't want my share of anything so I can just sign it over to you and go on my way." She said quietly. "I don't want anything to do with this man or what should rightfully be yours."

I hung my head but nodded my head slightly in acceptance. "Thanks, Alice, but you don't have to do that."

Charlie laughed so I knew we wouldn't get out of it that easy. "It doesn't work that way, Mary Alice." Charlie sneered at her. "If any one of you chose to not live here for the entire two years then no one gets anything." Charlie said seriously.

"Who gets it then?" I asked angrily as Rose flipped through her stack of papers.

He smirked at me and pointed to the papers in my hands. I groaned and began skimming through the papers until a particular named jumped out at me. "Mercy and Hatley!? You can't be serious! The tree huggers get it if we don't comply?" I screamed at him as I shook with the anger welling within me.

He smiled and nodded. "Everything will go to them and you won't get anything. Life's a bitch ain't it Isabella?" He snickered before launching into another coughing fit.

I was seething by this point so I just turned around and walked away. I kept walking until I was standing beside Gypsy's stall. "Hey boy, what's up?" I called to him softly catching his attention from hanging his head out his window that was left open on clear nights. He always had a way of calming me down.

He ambled over to where I was resting my head on the edge of his stall door and nudged my arm that was dangling on the inside of his stall door. "I know it's later than usual, boy, but I had to get out of that house before I murdered him. Gypsy, that man has no right to ask either of them to drop their lives and move here for two full years. I have no right either. We are going to lose everything, baby boy." I told him as I stroked the soft skin between his ears.

I didn't even hear anyone behind me until Rosalie's voice startled me. "You don't have to ask, Bella, I will stay. We won't let him win this battle." She said firmly shaking the papers at me gently.

I jerked up and whirled around to come face to face with not only Rosalie but Alice, Jasper, and Edward also. Where Edward came from was a mystery to me and he was the least of my worries at the moment. "I don't want you to feel like you have to stay just because of him." I argued with her pitifully as tears came to my eyes.

Alice practically ran into my arms wrapping her arms around my waist. "You are my sister and you deserve all of this if he has been like that all of your life." She whispered sadly.

I wrapped my arms tentatively around her small frame and gave her a grateful hug. "Thank you, Alice. But, what about your life back home?" I asked her quietly.

She pulled back from me and shook her head. "As I told you earlier I am a website designer and I have no boyfriend or anything keeping me back home." She said as she pulled back even further to smile at me and cast a quick glance at Jasper. "I believe that Wyoming and I will get along great. Plus, I have always wanted a sister or two and now I have them." She said in the sweetest voice possible.

I nodded and smiled at her. "I appreciate all of this Alice but you are only one half of the problem." I told her as we both turned to face Rosalie who was looking around with a slight look of disgust on her face from being in the barn. Even though it was clean.

Rosalie sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have anything keeping me in Florida either but an apartment and a cat named Skittles. Are you allergic to cats, Bella?" She asked as she continued to look around.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, there are about twenty or so of them in the feed barn. They keep the mice population down. So are you willing to stay?" I asked her as I released Alice and just stood there with my future in their hands.

She sighed and looked at me head on as she crossed her arms across her chest petulantly. "Fine. I will need to go home to get my stuff and end my lease on my apartment. I also need to talk to my staff and business partner."

I looked confused for a minute. "What staff?" I asked curiously.

She laughed. "I co-own a nightclub in Miami with a friend of mine. We opened it a few years ago and it is doing quite well actually." She said proudly.

I nodded. "That's great, Rosalie." I told her sincerely. "So we're doing this then?" I asked them quietly.

They both nodded. "Seems like it. Can we get out of this disgusting pig sty now?" She asked snootily.

I groaned aloud at her attitude. "It's a horse barn, Sunshine. Get used to it." I told her quickly.

She shook her head as Alice walked away looking in the stalls up and down the breezeway. "Never." She said saucily. "Who is Reverend Webber?" She asked as she continued looking through the papers in her hands.

I sighed just as Alice shrieked from right behind me. "He's the minister of the church we all attend and a family friend." I told her as I turned to face Alice. Who was nose to nose with Gypsy. "You okay, pixie?" I asked her trying to hold in my chuckles.

She shook her head. "That's not a horse. It's a monster." She whispered not moving an inch.

I laughed as I looked between Edward and Jasper who were just standing there watching us amusedly trying to hold in their laughter but pointedly staying away from each other. They weren't the best of friends because of what had happened between Edward and I. "Are you two idiots amused enough yet?" I snapped at them.

They doubled over in their fit of laughter. I growled and stamped my foot before walking over and pushing Edward into a pile of hay and knocking Jasper's hat off. "Straighten up you idiots and lets go before Ma gets pissed for not eating her dinner and dessert. Jasper get Alice." I told him as I strolled out of the barn without another word. Apparently Edward was now invited to dinner.

Since Charlie was going downhill rather fast, Rosalie and Alice decided to head back to their respective states the next morning to settle their affairs for the next two years instead of waiting for Charlie to croak and having to rush through things once he died. They had been gone for a little over three weeks now and the house had been rather peaceful since Charlie was usually sedated to deal with the pain of dying a miserable man. Hospice had been called in so Esme and I didn't have to deal with him too much anymore. He had round the clock care now.

I was currently out in the north pasture checking on the mama cougar and her cubs squatting in the old feed shed when my cell phone trilled announcing an incoming call.

I pulled my phone out of my saddle bag and groaned when I saw it was Edward. "What do you want, idiot?" I asked him as I slid off of Gypsy's back onto the leaf covered ground. Fall was really settling into the area and we should be expecting snow soon as we were now edging into October.

"I was just calling to see if you had made room for your sisters yet? Aren't they supposed to be coming back in the next day or so?"

I sighed because he knew damned well that I hadn't touched the two spare bedrooms that they had picked before leaving. They decided to stay in the main house for now so that we could bond or some shit that Alice had spouted off when we were trying to decide where to put them for the next two years. They were going to bring some of their furniture from their apartments to make the ranch house feel more like home to them. I was perfectly fine with it but that meant I had to clean out the bedrooms completely. That was a lot of work since they had become storage over the past few years. "You know I haven't had time for all of that." I told him as I crept closer to the feed shed.

"Now Isabella, you know all you have to do is ask for my help and I will give it to you. Same goes for Jasper and Jake." He said sweetly.

I sighed because I knew deep down that he was right. "I know, Edward. I've just been busy the past few days doing the last few preparations before winter hits and all. Plus Jake's been busy with Leah and Jasper always has his phone attached to his ear talking to Alice. Hell she wasn't even gone a week and he flew down to spend the weekend with her." I told him as I peeked into the feed shed and sighed a sigh of relief at the emptiness I saw.

"I know for a fact that tonight is Ma and Pa's anniversary and that you will have the house to yourself besides Charlie and his nurse. So why don't I come over and help you clear the rooms out tonight?"

I growled into the phone as I inspected the fence that we had repaired just a few weeks ago before my life had been upheaved. "What do you presume I do with all of the furniture?" I asked him snippily.

He had the audacity to laugh at my question. "Well I would presume that you would put it in the bunk house for the farm hands you are going to hire in the spring. Those mattresses out there have seen their better days. I'm sure they would appreciate something other than those lumpy old mattresses."

I laughed knowing that it was true. We had spent several winter nights snuggled on those mattress in what we considered the bunk house as I tried to escape the wrath of Charlie. And they hadn't been changed since then either. "Fine. 7 o'clock. Don't be late." I told him as I disconnected the call and whistled for Gypsy.


	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5 (2667)

Later that night I sat at the bar digging into my lasagna that Esme had made yesterday and put in the refrigerator for me and the nurse. As if I was incapable of cooking for myself and one other person. She had made sure I knew the basics at least. "Knock knock." Came from the front door.

I groaned and let my head fall to the counter top. I knew who it was and I wasn't ready for him. My defenses hadn't gone back up completely since that fateful day that had changed my life completely.

I stiffened out of some ingrained reflex when Edward ran his hand up and down my back in what used to be a soothing gesture. "Hi. Dinner?" I asked gesturing towards the extra plate that was sitting on top of the stove.

He nodded and went to get his plate before sitting down on the barstool next to mine and digging in. Nothing else was said except the scraping of our forks on our plates as we ate the delicious cheesy goodness that Esme had left. Once we were finished I grabbed our plates and headed to the sink to rinse and load them in the dishwasher.

When I was finished, I silently headed down the hall to the bedroom that Alice had chosen. "Who is getting this room?" Edward asked as he propped up against the doorframe right behind me. I assumed he was looking at all the boxes and clutter that was everywhere in the bedroom.

"Alice." I told him as I walked over to the plastic tubs sitting in the middle of the bare bed. "She said that she wanted this room because it has such amazing views and great fung shway or something or other." I told him with a dismissive wave of my hand as I began placing the few knickknacks and stuff in one of the empty tubs I had found earlier.

"That sounds about like Alice from what little I know of her." He said as he surveyed the room. "Want me to start toting this stuff out to my truck?" He asked eyeing the boxes and already full tubs.

I nodded. "Yeah, if you don't mind. All of this stuff is going down to the empty house. Rose and Alice said they didn't want to live down there alone since it's the farthest away from everybody else." I told him as I finished packing what was left.

He nodded knowingly. "I'm sure they want to get to know the sisters they never knew existed too." He said as he kissed me on the top of my head as he headed out the door with a tub in his arms.

I scowled at him as he left without another word.

A few hours later I was sitting on the tailgate of Edward's truck enjoying the crisp cool night air on my exhausted body. It was nearing midnight and I had to get up early in the morning to do the morning feedings and such. It was exhausting work but both bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets were now completely empty and the bunkhouse had two decent complete bedroom sets as well as bathroom accessories. "Tired, baby?" Edward asked as he flopped down beside me.

I scowled at him. "How damn many times do I have to tell you. Do. Not. Call. Me. That." I said sternly and slowly to him.

He just laughed and shrugged his shoulders as he laid back in the bed of his truck. "The stars are amazing out here. That is one of the things I missed most when I was away at college." He said wistfully. "I constantly complained that the city lights were interfering with God's lights." He said whistfully.

I huffed and laid down beside him because honestly you could see a gazillion stars for as far as your eyes could reach. We laid there for probably an hour without a word even being spoken. "Can you ever forgive me, Isabella?" He asked me quietly. Hearing my full name roll off of his lips made my insides quiver in a good way. He used to do it to make up for the way Charlie mocked my full name.

I shrugged but didn't say anything because I honestly couldn't remember why I was still mad at him most days.

"You know I regret leaving you here every day since I left. If I had just took you with me everything would be different now. I'm so sorry, baby." He said as he rolled onto his side to face me as we lay in the bed of his truck like we did when we were teenagers. He reached over and stroked a finger gently down my cheek. "Please forgive me, Isabella, please." He begged quietly.

I sighed before rolling my head to the side to look at him. "I…" I began but stopped suddenly when I saw the flicker of hope flash in his eyes. Instead of saying anything I just got up and climbed into the cab of the truck effectively telling him I wanted to go home and that our night was done. He drove me home in complete silence and I quickly escaped into the house and turned the porch light off.

I walked into Charlie's room to make sure he didn't need anything before I headed to bed. I saw he had his eyes open and his chest was moving. Lauren, his nightly nurse was curled on the chaise lounge with her laptop open on her lap. "Charlie, Lauren do you guys need anything before I turn in for the night?" I asked them cautiously. "Pain pill? More blankets? Water?" I rattled off the things he usually demanded the most. He shook his head and turned his head away from me, effectively dismissing me. I sighed and smiled briefly at Lauren who offered a small smile of sympathy at Charlie's dismissive attitude. "Lauren?" I asked again.

She shook her head negatively. "Goodnight, Ms. Swan." She said before turning back to her computer.

I turned off his overhead light as I walked out the room and to the other side of the house where my rooms were located. I pushed open my door and sighed when I saw one very sexy handsome cowboy laying in my massive bed. "Didn't you get the message, Edward? The nights over, thanks for the help." I told him as I stripped my long sleeve shirt over my head and tossed it towards the laundry basket on my way to the bathroom. I wasn't even worried about him seeing me in my bra because he had seen it all before and obviously he was wanting the punishment. I used to be wary about just stripping my clothes off in front of him but he made me get over that fairly quickly. The scars on my back and sides had faded considerably over the years thanks to the scar cream Esme had given me for my birthdays and Christmases.

"You didn't answer my question, Isabella." He said as he watched me toe off my boots and shimmy out of my jeans so I could take a shower. I heard him groan from his position on my bed. Served his ass right.

I sighed and reached in to turn the water on and adjust the temperature. "When you ask a question that's worth answering I will answer you." I told him before slipping my lacy panties down my legs and unhooking my bra letting it fall to the floor too.

I heard him groan louder this time. As if he was in pain. Idiot. "You are amazing, Isabella. You know how to torture a dying man with views of your silky skin." He growled at me.

I just laughed as I stepped into my shower. "You won't die from a persistent hard on, Edward. You have two hands and a bottle of lotion I'm sure." I told him loudly so he could hear me over the sounds of me taking a shower. "Why don't you go home and put them to use!"

I took my time washing my hair and body off before turning the water off. I wasn't sure which one I was hoping for more. Edward to leave or join me.

I reached out and grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around my body snuggly before stepping out onto the floor mat. I peeked into the bedroom and groaned when I saw that Edward had made himself at home. His boots were beside my chair that sat just inside my door that led outside, his jeans and shirt was folded in said chair. To top it all off he was under the blankets with his hands folded contentedly behind his head. "Nice shower?" He asked huskily.

I smiled at him before nodding and shutting the bathroom door. I could only handle so much temptation before I gave into him, my defenses were weak at best right now. I quickly ran another towel through my hair before finishing my nighttime routine of rubbing vanilla and cherry scented lotion over my entire body before slipping into my sleep shorts and tank top. I smiled to myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. He obviously wasn't going to leave so I was going to have to make the best of it. I shook my head as I opened the door and walked towards my bed. The sight that I was met with nearly broke my heart. Edward was sound asleep and looked amazing. I easily remembered why I had fallen in love with him that very first time and why I continued to love him still today despite everything. I had always loved admiring him when he was asleep. His long auburn lashes rested gently against his alabaster cheeks, his longish auburn hair was tousled about his head, and the days' worth of stubble that dotted his cheeks made him look sexy as sin. He looked at peace and so much like the young boy I had originally fallen in love with all those years ago.

I delicately ran just my fingertips along his lips and up through his hair. I sighed as I ran my fingers through his hair one last time. "Love you, baby." He whispered in his sleep as he instinctively reached out for me.

I smiled and leaned forward and gently pecked him on the lips before whispering. "Love you too, Romeo."

The next morning I woke up alone and confused. "Edward?" I called out as I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

I listened closely and couldn't hear the shower running but I did hear voices from my bedroom door that had been left cracked open presumably when Edward had walked out of it. I looked over towards my other door and smiled a little when I saw his boots still sat there. It meant he hadn't left after all.

I didn't know what to think about all of this. On one hand I still didn't trust him but I had truly forgiven him and on the other hand I desired him with every fiber of my being and loved him with all my heart. I climbed from the bed and followed the voices that I heard.

I walked into the living room to see Esme curled in Carlisle's arms and Edward sitting on the edge of the couch in just his jeans and nothing else talking quietly on the phone. "What's going on?" I asked them as I rubbed my eyes again.

"Oh, sweetheart." Esme cried out as she pulled herself from Carlisle's arms and wrapped me up in a big hug. Her face was tear stained and her eyes swollen. I knew immediately what was going on.

I took a deep breath and pulled myself from Esme's hug a little ways so I could look at her face as I muttered the words that were going to change my life. Hopefully for the better not the worse. "He's gone."

She nodded. "Yes, sweet girl, he is." She said quietly.

I nodded robotically. "When?" I asked quietly as I tried to accept what was taking place in my own home.

Esme sighed. "Almost an hour ago."

I nodded and took a deep breath before barging into what needed to be done. "We need to call Al, the coroner, the funeral home, Rosalie, and Alice. We need to get him ready to be shipped to the funeral home. We need to-" I rattled off an invisible list until I was interrupted in the best way possible. Edward's lips on mine. It was a simple gentle kiss but effective none the less.

Esme curled back into Carlisle's lap in the huge arm chair that was half of a pair as Edward took me in his arms. "Isabella, Lauren took care of most of that and everybody else has been called. They are all on their way. I believe Alice said that she would be here tomorrow along with all of her furniture. Rosalie said she would be here on Friday since Charlie's funeral will presumably be on Friday. Al said that Charlie had already made all of the arrangements for his funeral so there is nothing that you need to do but grieve. He also said if you needed him to just call him otherwise he would see you soon." Edward said in a rush.

I nodded. "Thank you, Edward." I whispered to him as I looked around looking for my other rock I usually depended on. "Where's Jasper?"

Edward laughed and ran a hand through his hair in his usual nervous gesture. "What's going on, Edward?" I asked him putting my hands on my hips getting a little ticked off that I was being left out of some invisible loop.

"See Jasper is the one who called Alice and when she said that she wasn't sure how to drive a U-haul he volunteered to go to San Francisco and drive it back for her. He left about fifteen minutes ago headed to the airport." Edward said quietly.

I hung my head because that had just doubled my work load for the next few days. "What about-"

Edward's lips on mine silenced any further words from coming out of my mouth. Again. I kissed him passionately not being able to deny him but a throat clearing in the background reminded me that my 'parents' were still in the room and my father had just died. I slid my lips from Edwards and laid my forehead against his chest to hide the blush that had formed on my cheeks as Edward rubbed gentle strokes up and down my arms to calm both of us down.

"Sorry kids, but I just heard a car crunching on the gravel." Carlisle said in a nervous voice. "Maybe you two want to go put some clothes on." He said as he and Esme got up and headed for the front door.

Edward and I hurried to back to my bedroom to throw some clothes on haphazardly. "Bella, last night-" He started.

I held up a hand to stop him before he got started. "Doesn't change anything right now, Edward. Please don't complicate things right now. I have so much to deal with already without having to deal with my feelings where you are concerned." I pleaded with him as I quickly threw on clothes.

He looked sad and defeated. "Okay, baby, I understand. I'm gonna head back to my place. I will see you later. Call me if you need me. Okay?" He asked as he sat down to pull on his boots.

I nodded and quickly strode across the room until I stood right in front of him. I ran my fingers through his hair and tipped his head back so I could look in his eyes. "I'm getting there, Edward. I promise. I just need to get through this first." I told him sincerely.

He nodded in understanding as he wrapped his arms around my waist gently. "I understand, baby, I do. I love you and you know that. I will talk to you later, okay?"

I nodded before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on his lips before stepping back.

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	6. Chapter 6

**So here is the newest chapter...There are some pictures associated with this chapter for those who need it. The link is on my profile.**

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I sat at the bar in the kitchen eating my Lucky Charms and I realized that it was just a few months ago that I sat here eating with my father and now I was sitting here eating alone. I smiled as I heard the door open and the click of boots echo on the hardwood floors. I presumed it was my brother so I called out a greeting to him. I had missed him while he was gone. "Morning brother." I called out around a mouthful of Lucky Charms, one of my secret indulgences.

"Not your brother this morning, baby." Edward said as he strolled into the kitchen like he owned it even though he had no claim on it. Yet.

"Don't start with me this morning, Edward. Please." I told him as I stood up to take my bowl and coffee cup to the sink so I could rinse them out and load them into the dishwasher.

He hopped up onto my vacated barstool and dug his hand into my box of cereal. "I just wanted to check on you this morning since I'm not going to be able to be at the funeral." He said as he popped a few pieces of cereal into his mouth.

I snatched my box of Lucky Charms out of his reach and stretched to put it back in the cabinet so that I would have some for in the morning. "I don't need you to be there, Edward, I will be fine all on my own. I have been for years now." I told him as firmly as I could but was saved from having to explain the quiver in my voice by the front door opening again. It was obvious that Jasper was all about Alice these days so I really was on my own now.

"Jasper?" I called out towards the living room as I fiddled with the tie of my belt that I had paired with my dress for the funeral today. It was a teal blue dress with a white beaded belt that wrapped around my waist loosely and tied right above my hip.

Jasper ambled on into the kitchen with his laid back stride. "Morning, sis." He said as he kissed me on the side of the head all while glaring at Edward. "Masen." He said with a hint of aggravation in his voice and posture even though he looked handsome as ever. He was dressed in his favorite pair of blue jeans and a black button up shirt that was tucked neatly into his jeans with his belt buckle prominently displayed.

"Looking good, brother." I told him as I quickly hugged him. "Have you seen Alice this morning?" I asked him knowing that they had been hooked at the hip since coming back from San Francisco yesterday.

He pulled away from me and went to the cabinet to pull down a coffee cup. "Thanks, Bella." He said to me as he poured himself a cup of coffee before leaning back against the countertop. "Masen, don't you have anything better to do besides harass my little sister?" He huffed at Edward.

Edward nodded, kissed me on the cheek and disappeared out the door but not before whispering gently in my ear. "You are not alone, Isabella. I love you." I groaned and shook my head before facing my brother head on. He was trying to play games with me and I wasn't having it.

"Stop avoiding the question Jasper. Have you seen Alice this morning?" I asked him again. Knowing damned well he had. Alice had yet to learn about the creaky floorboard in the hallway.

He nodded as he turned to face me with his pink cheeks. We had both inherited our mother's ability to blush at the slightest embarrassment. I laughed and decided to dig in further because I knew for a fact that Alice had snuck in this morning about 4 o'clock. I had been lying awake in bed unable to sleep yet again as I heard the floorboard and her soft curse at it sounding so loud in the otherwise quiet house. "Come on Jasper, I know that she snuck in this morning. I was awake." I told him trying my hardest to stifle my laughter.

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "I love her, Bella." He said shocking me back into my seat.

"How, Jasper? You've only known her not even a month yet. It's so quick." I whispered just as the person we were speaking about waltzed into the room and straight into Jasper's side wrapping her arms around his waist and shooting me a smile.

"It's destiny, sister of mine." She said answering my whispered question. She looked amazing in her fuchsia halter style dress.

I groaned and let my head fall to the countertop. "Great. Who's next?" I said to no one in particular.

"You and Edward Masen." Rosalie said as she clicked her way into the kitchen in her stylish white sweater dress, dark brown leggings, and black ankle boots.

I shook my head emphatically. "There is no Edward and I. Been there done that." I told them heatedly as I looked back and forth between all of them.

"Uh huh." "Sure." "Been hearing that for years." are the responses I got from my three half siblings.

I groaned and walked out of the kitchen without another word. I walked down the hall and into my room to finish getting ready for the day.

Two hours later I stood over the grave of the man that had raised me and I had called father and felt nothing but anger. Anger at the fact that he didn't give me time to say goodbye. Anger at the fact that he hid his illness from me until it was no longer hideable. Anger at the fact that he left me to deal with everything on my own. I was angry at my father who was dead and gone. "Bella?" Rosalie and Alice asked as they stood on either side of me as we all stared at Charlie's basic wooden casket that now sat covered with dirt.

"I'm fine. It's just kind of surreal. I always wished him to die when he was alive and now I wished he were alive when he's dead." I told them honestly.

Alice wrapped her tiny arm around my waist and laid her head on my shoulder. "Was he really that bad? All the time?" She asked quietly.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around both of them. "That's a conversation for another day. Right now I have to go get changed so I can go check on the cattle." I told them as I steered them back towards the house.

Al met us at the front door. "Bella, dear, are you going to be present for the will reading?" He asked as Rosalie and Alice edged around him and headed into the house and out of the cold. I had sat the other day and fully read the papers that Edward had given me and my sisters and got a full grasp of the hatefulness that was my biological father. He had appointed Al as the overseer of me and my sisters to make sure we obeyed his will for the next two years starting today. In the paperwork was a certified copy of his will which detailed what each person got or didn't get according to the behavior of me and my sisters. If we complied to his ridiculous rule of staying on the ranch for two years then Jasper got his house, Carlisle and Esme got their house, and Jacob got his house along with a severance package to each of them. If we didn't comply everybody got absolutely nothing but a one hundred dollar check and thirty days to vacate the premises.

I shook my head. "Nope, please just leave a copy on my desk after you are finished." I told him as I hugged him. "Thank you for the ceremony, Al. Just be sure to leave out the part where they get practically nothing if we don't comply because we are all agreed to comply. Please."" I told him as I kissed him on the cheek and headed into the house and to the left down the hallway to the bedrooms. I hadn't told anybody what they were or weren't getting because I hadn't felt like hanging that over their heads. Rosalie, Alice, and I had decided to leave that to the minister in charge of everything, which was Al.

He nodded in understanding before heading towards the kitchen where the will reading would be held. In half an hour.

I quickly went into my bathroom and changed out of my funeral clothes and into my jeans, boots, and flannel shirt. I was sitting on the side of the bathtub stomping into my boots when Esme walked in the room. "You know you have guests out there wanting to offer their condolences and it is rude to not stay and talk with them." She said with her hands on her hips.

I nodded. "Where were all of these people when Jazz and I were hiding in the barn while Charlie had one of his benders? Where were they when you found us on the front porch huddled in blankets because he had locked us out because he had decided he wanted us dead that winter? Where were they then!" I snapped back at her and instantly felt guilty because she had suffered all these years right along with us. She stuck around despite it all for Jazz and I, she was our protector and mother figure for all intents and purposes. "I'm sorry, Ma." I told her when I saw the sadness appear in her eyes.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I know you need to take time to grieve too, despite the tumultuous relationship between you and Charlie." She told me as I stood up in front of her.

I nodded and tears instantly welled up in my eyes. "I'm so angry at him because he didn't even give me time to say goodbye. He didn't even give me a chance to tell him what a hateful bastard he really was. He didn't even tell me he was sick until there was nothing that could be done about it." I told her as she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

"I know, sweetheart. He didn't tell any of us that he was sick until it was too late." I wrapped my arms around her as we cried into each other's shoulders. After a few minutes of being a girl I pulled away from her. "Okay, I have work to do." I told her as I pulled my hair to each side of my head to put some pony tail holders in. She nodded and left me to myself to finish getting ready.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon out checking fences and cattle until the sun started to set. As I crept into the darkened house I was thankful that the house was silent so I crept into my bedroom shutting the door and locking it. The last thing I wanted or needed right now was people asking me if I was okay. Hell no I wasn't okay, I was far from it actually but I would be eventually. I just wanted to be left alone to deal with all of my emotions for a few days. Somehow I had a feeling that wasn't going to happen though.

As I lay in bed that night I wandered what might have been different if my mother hadn't died giving birth to me? What would have been different if Edward had taken me away to college with him? What would have been different if he had stayed here to go to college? What if-

My thoughts were interrupted by the chirping of my cell phone from my nightstand. I grabbed it and unlocked it to see that I had 1 new message from Romeo. I had changed it back to its original entry a few weeks ago when I felt my resistance slipping against his charms. The bad thing is that they weren't just charms, it was the only way Edward knew to be. It was the real and true him. I above anybody else knew that with all my heart.

I smiled when I saw the simple text message.

_I miss you, Isabella. _

I quickly typed out a response back to him.

**I miss you too, Edward**

There was no more messages after that one. There didn't need to be. I eventually fell into a fitful sleep only to be woke up a few hours later by my alarm clock.

The following four days fell into this same pattern. Me staying out all day doing solo jobs only to return after everybody else was in bed. I always exchanged simple messages with Edward every night before succumbing to a numbing sleep.

I was soaking my sore limbs in a steaming bathtub of vanilla scented water when my phone trilled from beside me. I groaned as I reached out a hand and snatched it up without paying attention to the name on the screen. "Hello?" I asked irritably. All I wanted to do was send my nightly text message to Edward, soak in the tub, and crawl in bed.

"Hey, baby. I figured I would call instead of texting tonight." Edward's smooth voice sounded exhausted through the phone.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't call me that. What's up?" I asked him as I settled back in the water.

He just laughed lightly. "Nothing much, I just wanted to call and check on you."

I groaned. "How many times do I have to tell everybody that I am fine. Perfectly fine." I told him snippily.

He laughed. "You are not fine by any means Isabella, and you know it. But you will be with time. How are things going on the ranch?" He asked changing the subject.

I laid my head back against the edge of the tub trying to relax. "I'm not exactly sure." I told him softly.

"Secluding yourself, huh? You always did grieve better alone with Gypsy riding through the woods together." He told me as he had caught me doing that several times over my life.

I took a deep breath and I decided that I was going to admit something that I had only realized myself the past few days. "I don't want to grieve alone. When are you coming home?" I asked him softly.

He sighed this time. "Not soon enough, baby, not soon enough. Probably next weekend because I have to swing through Kentucky on my way home to visit Garrett and Kate to help break in some wild mustangs they caught on their land." He told me honestly.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me. I had never met Garrett and Kate but he had met them while he was away for college and were still friends, albeit long distance friends. "Okay."

"I will be home to you as soon as I can, baby. I promise." He said tenderly.

"Okay. Goodnight, Edward." I whispered to him after a few quiet moments. "I will be waiting on you."

"Goodnight, Isabella. I love you and I will be there soon." He said before hanging up so as to not force my hand with his whispered 'I love you'.

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**Now that you've read please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know some people don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I figured for those of you who did (or didn't) I would give you guys a Thanksgiving day surprise chapter. I hope you guys like this one as much as you have the past ones. Don't hate me for where I stopped it. I will be posting the regularly scheduled chapter tomorrow so you won't have to wait that long. I have had a few requests for an EPOV and I might do that eventually but not right now at the moment. Sorry! Enjoy the chapter!**

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Chapter 7 (2873)

I groaned as I stepped foot into the kitchen and saw Rosalie sitting on MY barstool and eating MY Lucky Charms from MY favorite bowl and drinking coffee out of MY coffee cup. "The Lucky Charms are MINE. If you wanted some you should have asked." I snapped at her as I snatched another bowl from the cabinet. It had been nine days since Charlie's funeral and everything was not sunshine and roses on the home front. Since receiving his severance package, Jacob had quit ranching and decided to open an auto body shop in town. Jacob had even went to the extent of telling us all that he didn't want his house anymore. He was moving into Cheyenne with Leah. Now that Jacob was gone it only left me, Carlisle, and Jasper to do all the work around here. Oh wait, Jasper was continually stuck up Alice's ass which just left Carlisle and me to do most of the work around here. I was tired of all of it honestly. If things didn't change soon I honestly didn't think we would make it a full two years. We have barely made it two weeks.

"I didn't realize I had to ask before eating something in the house I offered to stay in for two whole years for you." She snapped at me as she crunched on another spoonful.

I rolled my eyes as I sat down on a different barstool and started eating my breakfast "I appreciate that Rose, I really do but these are my secret tool to get me through the day of dealing with everything and cow shit." I told her in way of an apology. "Are you going to spend the next two years sitting on your ass either on the computer or on the phone?" I asked her around a mouthful of lucky charms.

"If you must know, I am trying to work out the finer details of my selling my half of my nightclub." Rosalie snapped back at me as she clicked a few times on her laptop.

I huffed as I shoved another mouthful into my mouth. "I didn't' know you were selling out. But you can't truly appreciate everything Wyoming has to offer if you sit on your ass with the computer or phone attached to some part of you all day every day." I told her with a slight smile on my face. "Plus your ass won't stay that small if that's all you do for the next two years." I told her sweetly.

I heard her slap her computer lid shut as she huffed in annoyance. "And Miss Country Bumpkin what would you have me do exactly? My ass is perfect by the way." She snapped in annoyance.

"What about helping Esme clean or cook for all of us?." I told her as I shoved another mouthful of cereal into my mouth. "The food doesn't cook itself and the house doesn't stay this clean by itself either." I informed her.

She immediately shook her head and scrunched her nose. I hadn't thought that would go over very well plus Alice was taking care of that portion of things. That is when she didn't have her nose stuck up Jasper's ass.

My argument was cut short when Alice and Esme walked in from outside with a basket full of fresh vegetables from the green house. Esme huffed as she sat the basket down on the countertop. "What are you two arguing about now?" She asked as she and Alice washed the vegetables they had picked. Rose and I had developed a different kind of relationship but we were in this for the long haul despite how it all started.

"I'm just telling Little Miss Sunshine here that she needs to do something productive while she stays here." I told Ma as she handed Alice vegetables to wash. Alice and I on the other hand got along great when she was around.

"I am sick of this nonsense and it is to stop right now." Esme properly chastised both of us as we sat with shamed faces staring into our cereal bowls.

Jasper chose that moment to walk into the kitchen presumably to look for something to eat. "Morning, ladies." He said as he winked at Alice before raiding the refrigerator.

"Jasper, why don't you take Alice for a walk while I have a talk with these two and I will fix you breakfast while you are gone." Esme said as she guided Alice over to the coat rack where Jasper stood slipping his jacket back on.

"Sure thing, Ma." Jasper said as he helped Alice slip her jacket on before guiding her out the door.

I grumbled "God forbid he actually do something" to myself as I watched them walk out the door.

Esme turned to face Rosalie and me and began tearing into our butts for the way we had been acting since this whole arrangement had started. "I am ashamed of both of you and your mother's would be ashamed, too. I knew them both and know for a fact that they would be ashamed of your actions. Rosalie you know that Ms. Elsie would expect more out of you. Bella you know that Renee would be ashamed of your attitude towards your sisters."

I raised tear stained eyes to Esme at the mention of my mother. "I'm sorry, Ma." I apologized weakly. "It's just been a lot of change here lately. I'm exhausted and frustrated and mad as hell." I told her honestly.

Esme shook her head. "Instead of going off on your own every day and snapping at everyone why don't you talk to everybody about what is bothering you. Stop being like this and be the brilliant smart woman I raised you to be." She said to me and I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

I opened my mouth to speak but before I could get the words out Esme had turned on Rosalie. "Rose, I knew your mother when she lived here and she was a very pleasant woman but also headstrong and stubborn. The whole reason she left here is because Charlie was so damned stubborn and not the person she was led to believe. You have done nothing since you got here but lay around either on the phone or on the computer. I know you are busy dealing with a business deal at the moment but that doesn't take every waking hour of every waking day. You haven't turned your hands to do anything and I won't allow it anymore. If you want to be lazy and be a slob then you can go sleep in the bunkhouse and take care of yourself." Esme said as she slapped her hands down on the counter in irritation. "I ain't anybody's damn maid!" She said as she turned around and walked away into the pantry I presume to gather the things she needed for Jasper's breakfast.

I laughed at Rosalie's exasperated expression on her face as Esme walked back into the kitchen. "Go get dressed and meet me in the barn in two hours. I have a something in mind that you might actually like to do." I told her as kissed Esme on the cheek, grabbed Gypsy's apple slices, and stalked out the door without another word.

I could hear Rosalie bitching and Esme chastising her as I walked away towards the barn. I spied Alice and Jasper walking along the wooden fence that ran along the length of our driveway with Buckshot licking at Alice's hand. I really was grateful that she made my brother so happy but come on he still had a job to do. I decided right then that I needed to have a talk with Gypsy and then have a talk with the entire family.

I fiddled with the apple pieces in my pocket as I walked into the barn and to Gypsy's stall where he was munching on some of the fresh hay that I had put in his stall earlier. "What's up, boy?" I asked him as I slid open the gate to his stall.

He walked over to the stall door and stuck his head over the door and nudged me in the shoulder causing me to stumble backwards from the force. "You silly boy, be easy." I told him as I stepped back up to the edge of the stall.

He whinnied at me before nudging me more gently. "All right, all right." I told him as I pulled a piece of sliced apple from my pocket. "Here." I told him as I handed him the piece of apple and he greedily took it.

I quickly fed him pieces of apple until it was all gone. "Let's have a talk, Gypsy." I told him as I unlatched his stall and slipped inside so I could talk quietly to him.

He bent down on one knee and I sipped a leg over his back and grabbed a hand full of his two tone mane. "Okay, up." I told him once I was situated.

He slowly stood up to his full height and I lay down and stroked his smooth neck. I had taught him this trick when we were both young. We used to ride around the pastures like this and I would just whisper into his ear as he slowly galloped along. "Let's go, boy." I told him and he slowly walked out the still open gate and out through the open barn doors.

Once we had walked a little ways from the barn I began my speech to him. "Gypsy, I just don't know what to do right now. I'm so damned frustrated it ain't even funny. Taking care of the cattle is not my idea of fulfilling my life's dream, it was Charlie's life. Not mine. I am so glad that Jasper has apparently found his soul mate but he still has a job to do. I am sick of taking up his slack and Pa shouldn't have to work any harder than he already does." I whispered into his ear gently.

He continued galloping gently through the fields and I continued talking. "It's a lot of responsibilities and I don't know if I'm cut out for it, boy." I told him as I sat up and looked around at all the natural wander around me. It was the beginning of November now and about six inches of snow had fallen over the past few days making it all look like an untouched winter dream. The only disturbance in the snow out here were Gypsy's tracks as we headed to the not so secret swimming hole. It was just a small natural spring that had trees growing all around it to hide people from prying eyes. Edward and I had spent many hours together out here when we were in high school. The trees were covered in snow as were the mountains surrounding us. It was amazing and serene, instantly calming me. As I looked around the oasis I smiled as I saw the old remnants of the rope we used to swing off of when we were teenagers.

"There is always something to do. Every day, all day. Thank God it's winter time right now and not spring time." I told him as I thought about what all had to be done every day. We were hauling feed to the cattle now that we had just moved to the closest pasture a few days ago. We had to making sure the water containers weren't frozen over.

The horses that we kept here had to have their stalls cleaned out daily as well as fresh hay put in their stalls. They had to be fed and watered and let out to run in the paddock for a few hours a day at least. Winter time was a pretty laid back time as far as ranch work went. Come springtime we would need to start preparing the haying fields to be seeded so that we could start growing our hay for the next winter. We would also be getting ready to brand our cattle so the guys would be making daily patrols of the cows. Calving season would also start come spring which only made our workload that much harder. I was debating on whether to keep the cattle or not. I hated how much time they took and I wanted to do other things with my life besides be a cattle rancher for the rest of my life. "How would you feel about letting Rosalie groom you, boy. You are a good listener and maybe she needs someone unbiased to talk to also."

He nodded his head like he understood what I was actually saying. We had been like this all his life; he was the other half to me at times. I couldn't count how many times Gypsy and I had ridden around these fields when Edward and I had broken up. Charlie scoffed at me when it had happened and had told me to just suck it up and get over myself. Esme and Carlisle had tried to baby me and murder Edward all at the same time and I couldn't handle that either. So instead I just rode Gypsy every day all day for weeks on end as I sorted everything out in my head.

The only bright spot in all of this was the thoughts of Edward and the possibility of our future together. "Then there's Edward. I don't know what to do about him, Gypsy. He has been so understanding through all of this bullshit with Charlie and has wormed his way back into my heart. He scares the ever loving shit out of me, Gyspy, but I don't have the strength to fight him anymore. I love him because he gets me. He knows me better than anybody else in my entire world and I can't keep this up any longer." I whispered to him and the emptiness around me. "I have loved him most of my life and I don't have it in me to deny it any more." I told him as tingles raced through me at the thought of him and the love I had for him.

"I always knew you loved me, Isabella." came a distinct deep voice from behind me.

I gasped and sat up suddenly. "Edward! How long have you been there?" I asked him as Gypsy turned around and allowed me to face him on his horse. Aladdin was a beautiful tan horse that Edward had raised from a colt. He looked amazing. Tired but amazing. "Long enough to know that I was correct about all your hatred and anger being an act. Isabella, I DO know you better than anyone else." He said as Aladdin stepped closer to Gypsy.

I huffed and lay back down on Gypsy's neck letting my arms dangle beside his neck. I shrieked when Edward threw a leg over Gypsy's back and slid over onto his back behind me. He trailed his fingers softly down my spine and my skin tingled deliciously even though I could barely feel him. "Edward…" I moaned out as I closed my eyes at the sensations rocketing through my body.

"How long are you going to make me suffer, baby?" He whispered softly.

I shrugged my shoulders and buried my head in Gypsy's neck. "I didn't know you were suffering." I mumbled because I knew that was a pathetic attempt at a lie. I knew that he was suffering; hell I was too. He had been suffering for years now and the bulge that had been pressed against me as he slept in my bed a few weeks ago had been proof enough of his suffering.

He leaned over me pressing his chest to my back as Gypsy and Aladdin crunched on the little bit of grass that was peeking out from under the snow around the trees. "That's bullshit and you know it. You know exactly what you do to me, you've always known." He whispered against my ear causing me to shudder.

"That's your problem not mine. Have you met Hannah and her five sisters yet?" I asked him jokingly referring to his hand and fingers that he could use for self-satisfaction.

"Ha-ha, Isabella." He grumbled as he grasped my hips and pulled me firmly into his hardened thighs and erection. "They don't work for me anymore and you know it. That hasn't worked since we were teenagers."

I groaned and pressed back into him because it had honestly been way too long since I had been intimate with a man. He was the last and only man I was intimate with and that was a very long time ago, almost 4 years ago long. "Well it's going to have to work because I'm busy." I told him weakly as he ground into me even harder.

"I know you're busy, Isabella, that's why I'm here to help." He whispered against my neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist tugging me more firmly into him. He slid his hand beneath the edge of my pants and toyed with the little bow that was on the front of my panties. "But we can take a few more minutes to ourselves. I've missed you something terrible." He said as he slid his hand further down into my pants and just as his fingers hit—

"BELLA!" Rosalie shouted from the direction of the barn interrupting what was promising to be a good moment.

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**Now that you've read please review and let me know what you thought!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here is the promised chapter. I hope everyone survived Black Friday shopping...we actually went and got ours done last night and were home by 11 last night so it wasn't so bad besides the crowds. Enjoy the chapter.**

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Edward and I both groaned at the interruption that was my older sister. "Dammit." I mumbled into Gypsy's mane.

Edward just chuckled. "Your turn to suffer now, baby." He said as he sat up and rubbed soothing hands up and down my back trying to calm us both down.

"I hate you." I mumbled as I tried to steady my breath.

He just laughed. "You don't hate me, Isabella, you love me and we both know it." He said as he whistled for Aladdin.

I just hummed and sat up straight and leaned back against him. "You scare me, you know." I told him honestly as he wrapped his arms around my waist and I laid mine on top of his gently scratching his arms.

"Why do I scare you, Isabella?" He whispered against my ear. Just hearing my full name roll off of his tongues was enough to make me shudder.

I shrugged my shoulders at his question even though I really did know why he scared me.

"Bullshit. Tell me." He said firmly.

I huffed. "Rosalie is waiting on me to find her something to do." I told him trying to brush off his question.

"She can wait. Answer me, baby. Please." He practically begged as he placed a gentle kiss against my ear.

I groaned. "Because you have the potential to ruin my whole life. Again." I whispered to the air in front of me as I closed my eyes in contentment. Silent tears slipped down my cheeks from beneath my closed eyes at the intense feelings circulating between Edward and I. "I don't know if I could survive it again, Edward." I told him honestly.

"I also have the potential to make your life wonderful and amazing. I would never break your heart again, Isabella. Why won't you believe me, baby?" He whispered to me quietly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I'm trying." I told him honestly.

I felt Gypsy begin galloping and I just relaxed back against Edward and enjoyed the cool air against my face. "That's all I can for, you to try to trust me with your heart again. We're home, baby. Let's get to work." He whispered against my ear causing me to snap open my eyes.

I groaned when I saw that we were indeed almost to the barn where Rosalie sat on a barrel of grain filing her nails. "Great. I'm going to apologize ahead of time, Gypsy, if she does anything wrong. Please be nice, boy." I told my horse as he stepped through the barn doors and made his way to his stall.

"Aladdin, stay." Edward told his horse as we rode and ducked under the barn door. We had been in similar scenarios as this one before.

"Rosalie, come." I called to my sister as we passed by her.

We chuckle under our breaths.

Edward lightly tickled my sides. "She's not a dog, baby, she's your sister."

"I know that and I'm letting her take care my horse, ain't i?" I told him as we came to a stop in the grooming area of the barn.

I could feel the chuckle rising in his chest as our arms were still wrapped around my waist. "That's a big deal for you and I know that even if she doesn't." He truthfully.

I huffed because at this point in time there was no use denying it. "I hate that you know me so well sometimes." I admitted to him as he released me and hopped down off of Gypsy's tall back.

He sighed and reached up and grasped me around the waist and tugged me down so that I slid along his entire body as my feet met the floor. "You love it and you know it. You've told me so before. Why don't you try talking to her. You guys might have more in common than you think. I love you either way though." He told me as he pecked me lightly on the lips.

I could see the sincerity in his eyes. This was the reason I had avoided him since he came back from college. I could never deny what I could clearly see in his eyes. "Excuse me, if you two are done humping in the hay, can you tell me what you want me to do so I can get out of this god awful place." Rosalie sneered as she stood at the edge of the grooming stall door in some sparkly slip on shoes, skin tight jeans and a fluffy ruffled up top that wouldn't last long working in the barn.

I turned to face her. "First thing you can do is go put some rubber boots on. They're in the tack room right over there." I pointed in the right direction.

She huffed and stamped her foot…straight into a pile of manure. She screeched so loudly that I had to bury my head in Edward's chest to keep my laughing. I heard him tell her "You will learn quickly to not wear fancy shoes when working on a ranch. The rubber shuck boots are right behind the door of the tack room." Before he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and tugged me tighter to him and planting a kiss on top of my head.

"What's happening here, Romeo?" I asked him reverting back to his old nickname that I had used for years and was like second nature all of a sudden.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, baby, but will you please stop fighting me now?" He asked me softly as he leaned down so that our noses touched and both of our eyes slid closed.

"Yeah, I don't have the energy to fight you anymore." I whispered as I stood up on my tiptoes and smashed my lips to his.

He turned his head slightly as he wrapped his arms tightly around me and lifted me so that our lips aligned a little bit better. I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck as we deepened the kiss unaware of anybody or anything else happening around us.

"Good Lord, get a room!" Rosalie said loudly.

I smiled against Edward's lips but loosened my hold a little bit so that he would get the hint and let me down. "That's not such a bad idea." He mumbled against my lips.

"Not so quick, Romeo." I told him and patted him on the chest as he released me and walked over to pet Gypsy stealthily rearranging his aching erection.

I turned to face my sister to introduce her to my horse and let her know what I expected of her but I almost busted out laughing at the sight of her in knee high waders. "Sunshine meet Gypsy. Gypsy meet Rosalie otherwise known as Sunshine." I said waving between one another as I introduced them to each other.

Rosalie shook her head. "There is no way in hell that I am going anywhere near that beast. I agree with Alice. That's not a horse it's a monster." She said adamantly.

I just laughed because I got this reaction a lot from people who didn't know Gypsy. "He's harmless, Sunshine, I promise. He's nothing but a big old baby." I told her and Gypsy came up and nudged my shoulder gently causing me to laugh. "Yes, I'm talking about you big boy." I told him as I scratched his nose.

Rosalie put her hands on hips and stamps her foot. "I'm not going near that beast." She repeated irritably.

Edward and I both laughed at the outraged expression on her face. "This is the only horse I trust you with right now. All you have to do is feed and water him every day at the same time and groom him." I explained further to him. "Come here, I promise he won't hurt you, he knows better." I held a hand out to her because I could see the fright in her eyes.

She sighed and stepped forward a few feet. "Good, now hold your hand out." I told her knowing that Gypsy would lay his head in her hand. "Chin level." I told her when she held it waist high.

When she had her hand held just right I gave her the next instruction. "Whistle lightly and he will lay his head in your hand. When he does that blow gently into his nose, it lets him get to know your scent." I instructed her.

She nodded and did just as I said but gasped audibly when Gypsy actually laid his head against her palm. "Blow. Gently." I prodded her when she didn't move.

She rolled her eyes but did just as I had told her until she ran out of breath. "Great, now he will know who you are whenever he sees you." I told her before turning to Edward. "Edward, can you give us a little bit?" I asked him and winked at him.

He nodded and slipped out of the stall past Rosalie and smiled at me over her head as I finished telling her what I expected of her every day. After I finished explaining to what I expected I found Jasper and Carlisle letting the horses out into the paddock for a few hours. I whistled at them to get their attention.

When their gazes jerked to me I smiled at them as I hopped up on the fence. "We need to have a family meeting over dinner tonight." I told them and they both nodded and tipped their hats at me in acknowledgement.

Later that night as we all sat around my rustic dinner table you could cut the tension with a knife if you tried and I was tired of it. "Okay, I know I called this meeting but you guys have to notice that things are running that smoothly around here anymore. I can't be the only one." I told them as I sat my fork down.

Jasper sighed and sat his fork down too. "I know most of the tension is coming from my new relationship with Alice and I'm sorry, Bella." He said as he smiled tenderly at Alice who just kept on eating as if nothing was happening.

I shook my head. "I am all for your blossoming relationship, Jasper, but we each have responsibilities around here to get us through the winter and spring months. I know things are tough because Jake up and left us but we are just going to have to deal with it." I told him.

He nodded knowingly before smiling apologetically. Carlisle was the one that spoke up next. "What are we gonna do come spring, sweetheart?" He asked curiously.

I shrugged my shoulders. "If you and Jasper want to keep doing the cattle thing then you can hire some more hands to help with that but I think I am done with being a cattle rancher." I told them honestly.

They both nodded. "I personally could retire or at least cut back on the amount of cattle we have." Carlisle said quietly.

We all turned expectantly to Jasper to gather his input. He shrugged his shoulders. "I could always go back to school and finish my degree since I had to drop out when I had that accident. I say sell all of the pesky bastards after foaling season." He said honestly.

I nodded. "Then I guess that's settled then. We just have to get the cows through the winter months so we can get a good price for them come spring." I told them as I picked up my fork and resumed eating.

"I guess so, sweetheart. What are you going to do without the ranch to run?" Carlisle asked me.

I sighed and set my fork back down. "I'm not sure, Pa, but I know that I have been forced to work on this ranch since I was old enough to walk and I am sick of it. Charlie forced me to put this ranch ahead of everything in my life and it is time I put my life ahead of this ranch. I may go back to school too." I told him ardently.

He nodded. "This ranch has taken so much from all of us, Bella, it will be poetic justice for all of us to put our lives ahead of this place for once. What about you ladies? This is your ranch now too, what do you think?" He asked as he looked at Rose and Alice.

They both shrugged their shoulders in indifference. "Doesn't matter to me." Rosalie said nonchalantly.

Alice shrugged her shoulders also. "Doesn't matter to me either as long as we keep internet somewhere." She said with a laugh causing us all to laugh.

With that matter settled we all dug into the delicious dinner that Esme had prepared for all of us. Over the next few days things settled into a better routine and a lot of the stress of the coming season had been lifted off my shoulders since we were planning on getting rid of all the cattle come spring.

I crunched into my sandwich as I walked through the snow to the barn to check on Gypsy and Rosalie. In the few weeks that she had taken over feeding him, walking him, and grooming him they had built a nice rapport. She was no longer afraid of him and he was gentle with his nudges and nibbles, it was nice to see her open up some and shed some of that stuck-up rich girl façade she carried around when she first got here. But, she still refused to ride any horse. I was hoping that would change today.

As I crept up the Gypsy's stall I paused because I heard Rosalie talking to him much like I had over the past years. "I didn't want to like Wyoming, Gypsy, but I believe I have fallen in love with it here. Brandon is calling me all the time to come back to Florida and I keep telling him that I can't because family obligations were keeping me here but he doesn't seem to understand. He's getting really irritated at me because he thinks I keep blowing him off, which I am, but not for the same reasons as he thinks." She admitted softly. Apparently I had been right in my assumption that she needed someone unbiased to talk to while she was here.

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	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter 9 (2982)

I made some racket as I hedged closer to the stall and smiled when I saw that she was standing on the small step stool I had given her to stand on when she groomed him because he was so tall. "How are things going?" I asked her as I propped up on the stall door.

She nodded. "They're going." She said as she continued brushing him. "How much did you hear?" She asked quietly.

I sighed. "Enough to know that you are growing to love it here but some guy is wanting you back in the sunshine state." I told her honestly. "If you need to go for a few days or even a week I'm sure it will be fine. I'm sure Al would understand." I told her. I figured that as long as she came back before a full week was up that everything would be okay. I figured she would latch onto the offer with both hands and be gone by tonight.

But to my surprise Rosalie shook her head sending her blonde locks flying. "No, I don't want to go back to Florida and the deal is finalized and I'm no longer a co-owner of it. It's got nothing to do with that, it is actually my ex who thinks he still has claims on me." She said firmly. "But Brandon will get over it. It's better that I'm not there while he's this angry." She said softly.

I quirked my head to the side in curiosity. "Is he dangerous?" I asked her softly. "Has he hit you before?" I asked and immediately got my answer when her eyes went wide in surprise.

"How did you know?" She whispered as she paused in her brush strokes.

I sighed and decided to divulge my childhood. "When I was little—"

"Baby, you in here?" Edward called from outside the barn somewhere. Things with Edward had been going amazingly well. We still hadn't taken that final step into a sexual relationship but we spent every evening just talking and building our trust back up.

I smiled at Rosalie. "Hold that thought, Edward can tell you some things that I might have a hard time telling you." I told her as I turned to face the barn entrance. "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo!" I called out causing Rosalie to bust out laughing.

"Were you guys really high school sweethearts?" She asked bemused.

I nodded and smiled. "We have been best friends since we encountered each other when we were six years old. We were both swimming in the natural pond out in the south pasture. During the summer heat it is nice to go swimming in because it is fed by a natural spring so it is cold year round." I explained as Edward spotted me and headed our way.

She nodded so I continued. "He finally grew balls enough to ask me out the summer before our freshman year while we were swimming in our hole. We dated all through high school and two years of college before the distance got to us." I told her in a saddened voice.

"Why didn't you just go to college together?" She asked curiously.

I sighed but before I could answer Edward piped in. "We both got accepted into UCLA but because Charlie kept Bella so busy around here she couldn't dig in and concentrate on her studies like I did so she didn't get a full ride scholarship and Charlie refused to pay anything for it." He said truthfully with a little bit of disgust thrown in.

"Charlie wouldn't pay for you to go to college?" Rosalie asked shocked.

I shook my head. "He offered to pay for the community college in town as long as stayed here so I could work my schedule around the ranch's needs. So that's what I ultimately chose to do." I told her honestly as Edward braced his hands on either side of mine and pressed his chest flush to my back. "I thought it was my only option at the time." I whispered to no one in particular.

"Wow, I never dreamed he was like that. He sent me a twenty five thousand dollar check for my eighteenth birthday and that is what I used to finance my half of my night club." Rosalie admitted honestly.

I shook my head. "For some reason that doesn't surprise me one bit about Charlie."

"I would trade that twenty five thousand for one phone call or one birthday present or even one Christmas present in a heartbeat." Rosalie said sadly.

I shook my head. "Don't. Keep your twenty five thousand and be grateful that he wasn't around." I told her quickly.

She cocked her head at me in curiosity. "Why? Was he really that bad before he got sick? I figured all of his anger was from dying and being able to do anything about it."

I took a deep breath. "There were multiple times when Jazz and I would have to hide in the closet while Charlie destroyed the house on one of his drunken binges. Esme and Carlisle hid us when Charlie went to drinking or got angry over something someone had done that day to piss him off. He blamed me for my mother's death because it had made him the responsible parent for not only me but Jasper as well and he couldn't just toss me away and forget about me. Not that he didn't try on a couple of occassions." I told her quietly. Not many people knew about my personal life with Charlie but Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Edward.

"Did you ever tell anyone what he was doing?" Rosalie asked quietly.

I nodded. "I tried to tell the principal at school but that ended up being a huge mistake because it turned out that the principal was drinking buddies with Charlie. All I got out of that was a good ass whippin' and months' worth of cleaning stalls for free." I told her as I shuddered at the memory of that beating in particular.

Edward wrapped his arms tightly around my waist as he felt my shudder. "I didn't realize what was going on until we were 14. We had been dating for a few months when things got heated in the back of my old truck and I saw the scars on her back and ribs." He said as he gave me a gentle squeeze.

Rosalie gasped as she stepped down off the short ladder and made her way to the stall door. "Did Charlie put them there?" She asked quietly.

I nodded. "When Jasper was 20 he had a car accident one night coming to get me from a friends' house. He flipped his car three different times and broke his leg and ended up spending a few weeks in the hospital." I paused in telling the horrible story to why I had scars all up and down my back and on my ribs.

"What does that have to do with the scars?" She asked curiously.

I sighed. "Charlie blamed me for Jasper's accident because he was coming to get me. Charlie got pissed that I had unintentionally taken away one of his best farm hands and decided to take it out on me. Esme and Carlisle usually protected me when Charlie got drunk but they were out for their yearly anniversary dinner. Jasper had always taken the brunt of Charlie's anger away from me but he was stuck in the hospital." I told her quietly.

Rosalie gasped. "That's awful Bella, I would have never dreamed that he would be like that."

I nodded. "I got 10 licks with a whip on the nights that he could find me. He found me six different times in the weeks that Jazz was gone." I told her with a shudder.

She let out a cry as tears poured down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry that you had to suffer through all of that." She said quietly.

I shook my head. "It's no big deal. I didn't suffer too much, Jasper suffered the most because Charlie always told him that he wasn't wanted and that the only reason he let him stay was so that someone could help out on the ranch and watch the brat his mother had left behind. I have always felt that Carlisle and Esme were what true parents were like, we both did." I told her as a smile graced my face at the thought of all that I had done with them over the years.

Edward sighed. "She sugarcoats a lot of Charlie's tantrums. It was awful. She climbed through my bedroom windows more times than I can count. Even before we started dating she would sleep over at my house at least a few times a week. She was actually at my 13th birthday party the night Jasper had his wreck but she never told Charlie that because she was trying to protect me from Charlie's wrath. Be lucky that you got out." Edward said honestly.

Rosalie nodded. "I always held so much anger and resentment that he chose to keep you but never showed even the slightest amount of attention to me." She said quietly. "I always missed having a father growing up but now I am kind of glad that I didn't have to deal with Charlie's bullshit."

I sighed because she was now realizing that having Charlie as an attentive father wasn't what anybody would really want. "Charlie's bullshit made me into a stronger person today and I don't let it overtake my whole life. This ranch, land, house, cattle, and even the men are what matter the most to me. Because of the hard work Charlie demanded it made me love this land and everything it has to offer even more." I told her honestly. "Do you want to go for a ride?" I asked her as she cleaned up the brushes and picked up the container they all rested in to hand it to me.

She looked at Gypsy and back to me and gulped loudly causing Edward and I to laugh at her. "How about you ride Aladdin, he's outside munching on some hay? Bella and I will ride Gypsy. We can show you the swimming hole." Edward said quickly catching both of us by surprise.

I turned around in his arms and looked at him bemused. "Who invited you?"

He just laughed, pecked me on the lips and unlatched Gypsy's gate. "I did, silly girl."

I shook my head as I motioned for Rosalie to follow me. "Do you want to go?" I asked her as I led her outside to where Aladdin was munching on some hay that had yet to be moved into the barn yet.

She nodded. "I guess. I've never rode a horse before…" She said as she wrung her hands together nervously.

I went about showing her the ropes and helped her up onto Aladdin. "Comfortable?" I asked her once she had stopped shifting in the saddle.

She sighed and nodded. "I guess it's the best it's gonna get. Am I going to need another jacket or something?" She asked as she looked around at all the snow covered land and trees.

I shook my head. "No, the fur lined coat should be fine. Just pull your hair forward to cover your ears and put this hat on top of your head to help keep it warm." I told her handing her one of favorite pom pom topped hats with built in ear muffs out of my jacket pocket.

"Okay, thanks Bella." She said with a smile on her face as she took the hat from me and put it on over her shiny blonde hair.

I headed back into the barn and into Gypsy's stall and saw that Edward had a blanket thrown over Gypsy's back to help keep him warm but no saddle since we were both riding him. "Ready Romeo?" I asked him as I pressed against his back as he tied the blanket in place.

He nodded and leaned back against me slightly. "Always." He said as he grabbed my hand and pressed it against his aching erection causing me to gasp.

"Edward…" My voice trailed off in a groan as I flexed my fingers around his impressive erection. We had been teasing each other mercilessly over the past week since I had given up fighting him. "…I need…" I whimpered as I pressed my face against his back.

He just chuckled and released my hand before adjusting himself. "All in due time, Isabella." He whispered to me. "Down, Gypsy." Edward told my horse who obediently knelt down so we could climb up on his back.

Once we were up on him I laid down over his neck pressing my butt into his aching groin as we walked out of the barn. "Come on Aladdin." Edward called back to his horse as we trotted through the snow towards the west pasture where our watering hole was. Rosalie was sitting rigidly in the saddle and had a death grip on the reins causing Aladdin to shake his head a little bit in irritation.

"Sunshine, loosen your grip. You are irritating the horse." I told her as Aladdin came to stand beside Gypsy.

She shook her head. "I'm gonna fall off, Bella. This was a crazy idea." She said shakily.

Edward laughed and reached a hand out to take the reins out of her hands. "You need to relax or you are going to fall off. Allow yourself to settle into the saddle. You are a little smaller than me so the saddle should be comfortable for you. Just allow yourself to relax and grab ahold of the horn." Edward told her as he placed her stiff hands on the saddle horn. "Take a deep breath and just relax." He continued to coach her as the horse walked gently along.

After a few minutes we were trotting comfortable through the snow to our favorite hide out.

I raised up and Edward wrapped his arms around my waist as we trotted through the snow. "You know, the holidays are right around the corner." Edward said quietly as we trotted along.

I nodded but otherwise remained silent because I had learned at an early age that the holidays were nothing special.

"Does Esme and Carlisle have anything special planned?" He asked quietly.

I shrugged my shoulders because they were the ones that had truly shown me what the holidays truly meant. Togetherness with the ones you loved the most. "I don't know now that Charlie is gone and Rose and Ali are here." I admitted softly.

"Why don't you ask them what they want? Maybe we could all mesh our traditions together and come up with some of our own?" He asked quietly.

"What are you guys talking about over there?" Rosalie asked from her perch atop Aladdin. I looked over at her and smiled because she looked like a natural on top of the horse with her hair flowing in the slight breeze now that she had relaxed into the saddle.

"The holidays." Edward said with a teasing glitch to his voice.

Rosalie sighed as she looked around at all the natural beauty that I could honestly admit I had taken for granted since I saw it every single day of my life. "The holidays must be amazing here, a lot better than what I've always had at home. My mom was always working on the holidays when I was growing up so we never had any big family dinners."

I sighed. "Not usually. Charlie didn't like to make a big deal about any holiday, he always said it was just another day that people used as an excuse to be lazy." I told her as I remembered the speech I had gotten when I asked why we didn't have a big Thanksgiving turkey when I was nine. I had snuck over to Edwards' for a couple of holiday dinners to get a grasp on what a normal family did on holidays. I had also celebrated several of them over the years with Carlisle and Esme and a few friends of Edward's that he would bring home from time to time.

She nodded. "From what I've learned that sounds about normal for him. Why don't we change it now that he's gone? He is forcing all of us to do something that we didn't originally planned on doing so why don't we go against his norms?" Rosalie proposed with a huge smile on her face.

I nodded and began feeling giddy at the prospect of what most folks would consider a normal family holiday. "What do you propose we do?" I asked her as we began up the small hill that announced the entrance to our little swimming hole.

"I say we talk to Alice and Esme and plan a huge dinner for Thanksgiving and we all stay in our pajama's for the day. Not a single work related thing to be done that day beside the general feeding in the morning." She suggested eagerly with her hands flying a million miles an hour as she got excited. "It will be great. We can go that afternoon and cut down a huge tree for Christmas and everything."

I laughed at her exuberance. "Sounds great, Rose. We will talk to Esme as soon as we get back home because we're here." I told her as I pulled Gypsy's reins so he would stop at the edge of the ice covered pond.

Edward hopped off and walked toward the small cluster of trees that stood to one side of the pond and broke off a limb to poke a hole in the ice for the horses to get a drink if they wanted it. "This is amazing, Bella. I wished I could have lived here all my life instead of in the city." Rose said softly.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 (2387)

Hearing Rose talk about how she wished she could have lived here all her life made me remember all times I had wished on everything around me hoping to be magically transported to somewhere other than here. "When I was a little kid I used to sit and wish on every single star whether it was shooting or not that I could be anybody else's child and live anywhere else in the world." I told her honestly as I looked around and the amazing scenery around me.

From the small hill we were mounted atop you could see the smoke coming from the chimney in the houses and the bright red of the barn through the leafless trees as well as our cattle and the mountains that were scattered around in abundance on our property. "But now that I am older I can appreciate all that I have here and despite Charlie's anger issues and lack of parenting skills he instilled some good values in me even though he went about it the wrong way." I told her honestly as our horses moved forward to drink the water now that Edward had broken the ice off the top of it. "He has taught me what not to do if I ever have children." I whispered reverently as I remember when that was a possibility.

Rose shook her head. "I can't imagine what it was like living every day in fear of pissing off the one who was supposed to love you the most. I'm sure you will make an amazing mother one day." She told me honestly.

I shrugged it off. "It is what it is, I adapted well and had a lot of people to lean on when times got tough." I told her honestly.

I noticed her nose was beat red sort of like Rudolph's. "You ready to head back?" I asked her as Edward grabbed a hold of Gypsy's mane and hopped up onto his back behind me.

Rosalie nodded and shivered. "Yeah, I'm cold. I am most definitely not used to the cold weather. I have lived in the south entirely too long." She admitted as we turned our horses around and headed back to the house.

Edward and I just laughed. "Wait until after Christmas when we have three or four feet of snow on the ground and we can't get anywhere unless it's on horseback." Edward told her as we trotted through the snow on our way back to the barn. I smiled as I thought about what Christmas meant. Sled rides.

Rosalie sighed. "I think I could deal with a little hibernation at the moment." She said as her phone trilled repeatedly alerting her to several incoming messages.

"Is he stalking you, Rose?" Edward asked as he hopped off Gypsy and led both horses into the barn. I guess he was intending on stalling Aladdin for a little bit.

Rose shook her head. "No, he just doesn't take lightly to being told to go fuck himself." She said matter of factly as she slid off Aladdin and landed solidly on her feet.

Edward and I glanced at each other but didn't really know what to say. "Okay then." I told her as I slid off Gypsy's back and straight into Edward's arm.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at us and left the barn without another word.

"You staying awhile?" I asked Edward a little while later as we headed towards the house.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his side. "I was planning to stay all night, if that's okay with you?" He asked as he kissed me behind my ear causing me to stumble a little bit.

I nodded and leaned on him for support as he continued to place kisses behind my ear and down my neck. "That's fine." I whispered to him just as we stepped up onto the porch.

"Bella! Edward!" Rosalie and Esme called from inside the house.

I quickened my steps and Edward and I burst through the front door in a rush only to see Alice crumpled on the living room floor and Jasper pacing frantically in front of the fireplace with the phone glued to his ear talking to someone. "What happened?" I asked as I quickly rushed to Alice's side joining Rosalie and Esme on the floor. "Ali, honey wake up." I begged her as I patted her on the cheeks gently.

When no one answered my question I repeated it, a little bit louder this time. "What happened to her?"

Jasper sighed and hung his head a little bit. "She's pregnant. We just found out yesterday morning. She just fainted, Bella." He said quietly as he continued to pace with his phone glued to his ear.

"Has she eaten today?" Esme asked him as she gently patted Alice's face with a warm wash cloth. When Jasper didn't answer she got a little angry and jumped to her feet and stepped into Jasper's path. "Jasper William Whitlock, pay attention. Has she eaten today?" She asked sternly.

Jasper hung his head. "Sorry, ma, I'm a nervous wreck and don't know what to do." He said as wiped his eyes a little bit.

Esme sighed. "Has she eaten anything today, Jasper? This is important son, it may be why she fainted." Esme pleaded with him.

He shook his head. "She only nibbles here and there. She says it's the only way she can keep anything down these days." His head perked up to something on the phone. "Yeah Em, can you come to the ranch my wife is pregnant and fainted and she won't wake up." He blathered into the phone quickly.

We all gasped as he said this. I turned to Edward and mouthed 'wife' at him and he just shrugged his shoulders in ignorance. I shrugged in agreement and went back to trying to get Alice awake. "Okay, thanks buddy see you in a few." Jasper said as he tossed his phone onto the couch before crouching down beside Alice.

"Ali, baby, wake up for me. I need you and the baby needs you to wake up." He pleaded with her softly as he scooped her up in his arms before standing up with her. "Come on, Ali, please." He begged her as he settled her onto the couch and propped her head up in his lap as he settled on the couch with her. I smiled when I saw Alice start to come around and the relief on Jasper's face.

I herded everyone into the kitchen to give the couple some privacy and to come to terms that my brother was having a baby and had apparently gotten married in the few months that we had known Alice and Rosalie. He had never intentionally kept secrets from me until now, he never told me everything but this was a big something. Huge. Life altering.

"When did this happen? How did this happen?" I asked no one in particular as we all settled around the kitchen. Rosalie settled into what used to be my barstool, Esme and Carlisle sat at the kitchen table, I hopped up onto the counter and Edward settled between my legs with his back to me.

I felt Edward tense up when no one answered the question and that immediately alerted me that he knew something. "Edward Anthony you best tell me right now what you know." I told him firmly as I slapped him on the shoulder.

He sighed and hung his head. "I promised Jasper I wouldn't say anything and I don't want to give him any reason to hate me anymore than he already does." He told me as he twisted to face me. "I'm sorry, baby, but it wasn't my place to tell." He whispered to me as he cupped my face gently in his palms.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but-"

"He's right, Bella, it's not his place." Jasper interrupted as he walked into the kitchen. "It's mine and Alice's and we will tell you all how and when this happened after the doctor looks her over and makes sure everything is okay." He said solemnly as he settled in the chair beside Esme and laid his head on the table.

"Jasper?" Emmett McCarty, the resident doctor, and Edward's college buddy, called from the living room.

Jasper jumped up and headed back into the living room to see what the doctor wanted leaving the rest of us in the kitchen to speculate on what all was going on.

"Ma, what are your plans for the holidays this year?" I asked to break up the tension in the kitchen as we waited for Emmett to get finished examining Alice in the living room.

Esme looked up in surprise. "I'm not sure; I didn't want to plan anything because of Charlie passing." She hedged lightly. "What do you have in mind?

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why don't we do old school traditional this year? Go all out? Tree, lights, presents, dinner, sled riding, and everything." I asked looking to Rose for confirmation that this was what she wanted. She smiled and nodded eagerly.

Esme perked up in her chair and Carlisle had a smile on his face. "Does this mean no work for the day? Lay on the couch watching football while the women cook kind of day?" He asked eagerly.

I smiled and nodded. "Nothing is to be done unless we really want to do it." I confirmed with a huge grin on my face.

"Who's all going to be here? I need to make a grocery list." Esme rattled off as she hopped up and went to grab a piece of paper and pen.

"Ma! Wait!" I practically shouted at her to calm her down. "We all want to help shop and cook, right Rose?" I asked and she nodded quickly with a huge grin on her face.

Esme slumped back down into her seat defeated but happy. "So we are really going to have a traditional Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year?" She asked cautiously.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's about time that Charlie stop ruining the great joys in life for everyone." I told everyone as I wrapped my arms and legs around Edward waist and neck peering at everyone over his shoulder. "It's time for everyone to be happy."

"What's this I hear about Thanksgiving dinner?" Emmett asked as he walked into the kitchen holding his black medical bag in his large hand. Normally people were intimidated by the sheer size of Emmett but he had the heart of a teddy bear and a touch as gentle too. His girls made him that way.

Those of us that new Emmett just laughed because he was notorious for wanting food for his medical service calls. Rosalie on the other hand seemed frozen in place as she gazed at the six and a half foot, nearly three hundred pound behemoth that was as gentle as a teddy bear. "We are having a traditional Thanksgiving this year, Em, you and the girls are more than welcome to come. I haven't seen them in what seems like forever." I told him extending the invitation to him and his two young daughters.

He smiled and nodded. "I'm sure they would appreciate something that didn't come out of a box. Kylie is about to drive me insane wanting to come visit so she can have some of her Nana's food." He said with a smile on his face as he talked about his almost three year old daughter, Kylie.

She was a cutie pie and as sweet as they came, the total opposite of her father because she was shy and took a while to warm up to new people. While Kylie was shy and reserved, her baby sister was the total opposite of her and more like her father. Rylie was only eleven months old and never met a stranger and jabbered all the time, like her father. Kylie had her mothers' reddish tinted hair and Emmett's beautiful eyes while Rylie had hardly no hair but what little she did have was shockingly blonde with bright blue eyes. They were both miniature baby dolls according to Esme. Emmett had gone to college with Edward and had followed him back here and fell in love with the place so he decided to stay. He had no family besides his girls so it was no issue of him completely relocating to Wyoming.

Esme and Carlisle had taken Emmett under their wing and became surrogate parents to him and grandparents to his girls. When the girls' mother had ran off just mere days after having Rylie he had turned to Esme and Carlisle for help and they had offered it up willingly. "Is this the other sister?" He asked as he looked between me and Rosalie.

I nodded. "It is. Rosalie this is Emmett, the town doctor and father extraordinaire. Emmett this is Rosalie, my half-sister from Florida. She's the middle child out of all of us." I told them as I introduced them to each other.

Rosalie smiled at him and held out her hand towards Emmett. "It's nice to meet you, Emmett." She said as she shook his hand a little longer than would normally be appropriate.

Emmett just grinned from cheek to cheek and nodded. "Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Rosie." He said just as his phone dinged from his pocket. "Excuse me a minute." He said as he pulled out the phone and cringed when he saw whatever it was he was looking at.

I assumed it was a picture message of whatever damage the girls had done. "How bad this time?" Esme asked with a smile on her face. The girls were notorious around town for some of the stunts they pulled while he was away on house calls or busy doing whatever he had to do.

Emmett just handed her the phone as he shook his head. "I can't believe Maria let them do that." He mumbled under his breath at his babysitter/secretary/head nurse.

"It's just toilet paper, Em; it will all clean up relatively easy." Esme said cheekily as she handed him back his phone.

He shook his head and pocketed his phone. "Alright guys, I guess I better go relieve Maria before she relieves me." He said as he headed back towards the living room. "Set three more plates for Thanksgiving and count us in." He said as he closed the front door behind him.

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**Please review and I will see you guys in 3 days!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Unfortunately RL has decided to rear it's ugly head and demand attention in the most awful way this morning. My father passed away a few hours ago so I don't know when the next update will be but since the chapters are already written I will try to remember to post it on time but I make no promises during this tragic time of mine. **

**Please enjoy this chapter for me and my father who encouraged me everyday to write more.**

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Chapter 11 (2140)

Once Emmett made his typical demand of being invited for dinner, Alice and Jasper walked into the kitchen with their arms wrapped around one another and puffy eyes. "Everything okay?" I asked them softly.

They both nodded. "Emmett let us listen to the heartbeat on his little fancy machine and said everything looked good besides Alice being dehydrated and having low blood sugar from not eating that much today." Jasper explained as he looked lovingly at Alice who smiled softly back at him. "She has to eat better and drink plenty of fluids until we get to the doctor in a few days.

"Someone care to explain this to me?" Esme said from the table.

Alice sighed and Jasper hung his head. "Ma-"

"Jasper William Whitlock don't you start with that pitiful whiny voice. You did this now explain yourself." Esme stopped him before he could even get started good. "Let's start with something easy. When did you get married?" She asked leading him along the proverbial path.

He nodded and led Alice to the empty barstool between Rosalie and myself and stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders before he continued. "Ali and I got married when I went to help her drive her U-Haul back from San Francisco. It was destiny, Ma; I couldn't deny it so we made a detour through Vegas and got married by Elvis himself." He spilled to all of us honestly.

I shook my head knowing where this was going with Esme. "Why keep it a secret. I am your mother for all intents and purposes for the past 24 years. Why would you keep this from me? Your sister? Why?" She ranted as she wrung her hands together to keep her anger and irritation under control. I didn't have to get angry over this situation, Esme would take care of it for me. She always had because that is what mother's do.

He shook his head. "We had planned on telling all of you right after the funeral but the timing never seemed right. I'm sorry, Ma, it wasn't intentional to keep it all from anybody." He pleaded with us to forgive him.

"And the baby?" I asked quietly. "How long have you known?"

Alice hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry but I didn't want to tell anybody until we had seen the doctor. I have suspected for almost two weeks now since I was late and normally I'm not. But we only confirmed it yesterday with several home pregnancy tests. We have a doctors appointment in Cheyenne on Friday, three days from now." She said quietly. "Please don't be mad at either of us. I told you early on that it was destiny and you couldn't mess with destiny." She reminded me with a smile on my face.

I nodded. "Jasper always has been a little slow with getting things accomplished but apparently that has changed." I told both of them trying to break the tension in the room. It worked as everybody laughed and went about congratulating the happy couple.

I cleared my throat to get everybody's attention. "So does this mean you are moving in with Jasper completely, Alice?" I asked my sister.

She smiled and nodded. "It will be so nice to not have to sneak in every morning or out every night." She said causing us all to laugh.

I grinned at her because I truly was happy for the both of them but I felt like I needed to make a valid point know. "Don't forget you can't move off the ranch for two years, you guys."

They both nodded. "I have told Alice that she could do whatever she wanted with that house to make it her own." Jasper informed us.

Alice giggled. "I actually love the rustic feel of that house and it is in the perfect location for when the baby gets here. I don't plan to go anywhere, Bella. No worries."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god for that. We need to call Al and inform him of the changes taking place. I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not but he needs to know anyways." I threw out there since we hadn't been to church in months but we were old friends.

Rosalie shocked us all next. "Speaking of moving, would it be okay if we go look at the empty house in the next day or so? I'm thinking we could all use our own space. Bella, this house is rightfully yours. You have more than earned it, I believe." She said shocking us all.

I could do nothing but gape at her at the turn of events this night has taken. "Bella?" Edward called my name as he nudged me gently.

I shook my head. "That's fine, Rose. It's been well taken care of over the years but we just use it for storage and a bunkhouse if we need it. We can go look at it whenever you want." I told her as I leaned back into Edward's warm chest. "We can even go look at it right now if you would like." I offered to her.

She nodded and smiled at the prospect of having her own place again. "I would love that. Are the utilities on in it?" She asked as we stood up from our stools.

I nodded. "They are always on. Let's go." I told her as I headed into the living room to slip my boots back on.

I laughed when she tugged her own boots on her sock clad feet. "What's so funny?" She asked as she tucked her jeans in to keep them from getting soaked by the snow.

I shook my head. "Just laughing at how well you fit in around here now. That's all. Let's go." I told her as we grabbed our jackets off the pegs by the front door and slipped them on.

We walked down the slush ridden driveway until we came to the turn off that led to the little three bedroom house that sat about two hundred yard off the main driveway. It was a typical ranch house with yellow clapboard on the outside, dark green shutters, and a nice little porch to boot. "The windows and door were replaced about four years ago." I told her as I unlocked the door and led the way inside the sparsely furnished house.

She nodded and stepped inside but not before knocking her boots on the doorframe to knock the snow off. "This is cozy. What does the kitchen and bathrooms look like?" She asked with a wrinkled up nose.

I just laughed and led her through the archway into the dining room and kitchen. She gasped when she stepped into the bright modern kitchen. 'This is amazing." She whispered as she looked around.

I nodded. "It is. You can thank Esme for all of this. She had it remodeled year before last. The bathrooms are completely redone also as are the floors. These cabinets are actually extra's from our kitchen remodel that were stripped down and re-stained. The floors are the original hardwood floors and have just been refinished last year." I told her as I led her through another archway that led to the hallway which led to the three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Both bathrooms had old fashioned claw foot tubs with rain head shower heads above them with new tiles all around and modern vanities to bring them into the modern century.

She was in love with the entire place before we were even halfway through it. "I want it. Is that okay?" She asked as we headed back into the living room.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around her in a sisterly hug. "I'm glad you like it, Rose." I told her emotionally.

She nodded. "I've always wanted a house just like this one. It's perfect."

The next few weeks were a flurry of activities as we planned our traditional Thanksgiving dinner as well as getting everybody settled into their new digs. We had decided that we would hold Thanksgiving dinner at the main ranch house since it had the biggest kitchen. Rose had the rest of her belonging shipped up from Florida and officially moved into what used to be the bunkhouse for the rough and rowdy cowboys that frequented this area. Alice had added her belongings in with Jasper's and made his house into a home for the three of them.

Another surprise is the fact that Emmett had been showing up with the girls more often than necessary, I personally think it was because of Rosalie. Edward and I had both caught the secret glances that kept passing between the two of them as well as the not so secret text messaging sessions when they thought nobody was looking. Rosalie had created an almost instant amazing bond with Emmett's girl but I had warned her that those girls had been through enough hurt already in their young lives and I would not stand for her getting close to them unless she really meant to stick around. She had reassured me that she had nothing but the best of intentions and to trust her. So trust her I did and I turned my focus onto my own budding new yet old relationship.

Things with Edward were…amazing…out of this world…beautiful…slow…interesting…all of those things if I were totally honest. We had decided to take things slow so that our trust could rebuild but it was getting frustrating to say the least. Even though we rarely spent a night apart we had yet to be intimate no matter how many times one of us had begged the other to give in already. We both knew we weren't ready for that huge step yet, so we were being patient with each other even though it was getting harder and harder to do as the days and nights passed by.

"Baby, wake up." Edward whispered in my ear softly as he stroked down my bare back, Edwards shirt must have ridden up during the night.

Despite the vast array of lingerie I owned I preferred sleeping in Edward's t-shirts that still smelled slightly of him even after the shirts had been washed. Wait! Edward wasn't here last night when I went to sleep. He hadn't been here for the past three nights since he was away on business. Again. "Edward?" I asked sleepily as I rolled over to face him.

"Who else would it be? Do you have strange men sleeping in your bed, Isabella?" He chuckled as I blinked open my eyes to get a better look of him.

I shook my head and a smiled appeared on my face when he came into clear view. "Nope, only you Romeo." I told him as I stretched beneath his gaze to work the morning kinks out of my tired body. "What time is it?" I asked around a yawn.

He chuckled as he kissed me on top of the head. "About two or so in the morning, I just got in." He whispered against my head softly.

I groaned and tugged him down into the bed with me. "Sleep with me then. Esme should be up soon putting the turkeys in the oven." I told him as I rolled onto my side silently telling him to lay down behind me.

He did as I intended, curled around me from behind, wrapping an arm around my waist tugging me firmly back against him, pressing his constant impressive erection against my panty clad behind. I wiggled my butt a little bit causing him to groan in agony. "I don't have the energy to fight you tonight, baby. Keep that up and we both know what is going to happen." He said huskily.

I giggled and wiggled back against him again just to see how far I could push him because honestly I was tired of waiting and I wanted to be greedy and have something else to be thankful for today since it was Thanksgiving today. "Maybe I'm tired of waiting, Romeo." I whispered in the dark night.

He groaned and quickly flipped me onto my back and settled on top of me pressing his erection right where I had wanted it for a while now. "Oh God, Edward." I moaned and raised my hips up to get better friction where I needed it most.

"Are you sure, Isabella?" He asked through ragged strangled breaths.

I nodded eagerly as I pulled his mouth down to mine. "Absolutely sure, Romeo." I whispered against his lips before latching my mouth to his.

We made love patiently and passionately, just like our original first time. It was a reuniting of souls, bodies, and hearts that had been separated for way too long.

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	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 (2354)

I groaned as a knock sounded on my bedroom door but I knew it was getting late by the bright light streaming through my lacy curtains.

"Bella? Edward?" Esme's voice called from the other side of my thick solid door that was dead bolted shut out of pure habit.

"Yeah, Ma?" I called back sleepily as Edward's arm tightened aground my stomach pulling me more firmly against his bare chest.

"It's nearing ten o'clock and I know you wanted to make a couple of things for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Alice and Jasper just got here also." She told me softly through the door.

"Okay, Ma. We're getting up. Did Pa feed the animals already?" I asked her as Edward gently placed kisses across my shoulders.

She laughed. "Yes, sweetheart he has taken care of everything. We decided to let you sleep in when we saw Edward's truck and trailer sitting in the driveway. Edward your horses have been moved to the barn also and taken care of." She said as she rapped lightly on the door indicating that she was leaving us alone.

I rolled over to face the love of my life and man of my dreams. "Horses? I take it the trip to California paid off then?" I whispered in the still of the light as I ran my hand lightly over the stubble that had grown since his last shave.

He nodded. "Very much so. Let's go, lazy bones." He said effectively changing the subject and ending all conversation as he climbed his naked form from the bed and headed straight into my bathroom.

I sat up and admired the view as he walked in and turned on the water in the shower before flopping back on the bed to reminisce over the events of the night. "Care to join me? We can get done a whole lot quicker." His voice said disturbing my reminiscent daydreams.

I quickly jumped from the bed and joined him in the shower where things quickly got hard and out of control.

Needless to say it was almost an hour after Esme had knocked on the door that Edward and I emerged with shit eating grins on our faces and wet hair much to the amusement of the entire family.

"WHOO HOO! Lil Eddie got some!" Emmett said loudly as he helped Rosalie peel sweet potatoes for her casserole she had wanted to make. We were all bringing some of our family recipes to the table so we could all try them; it was another way for me and my sisters to get to know one another a little better.

"I want some too, daddy." Kylie said from the kitchen floor.

That simple comment caused the entire room to bust out in laughter at Emmett's expression at his innocent little daughters question. "Absolutely not, Kylie Anne, not until you are fifty years old." He told her firmly which caused another round of laughter from all of us. Kylie immediately stuck out her bottom lip that began quivering as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Daddy.." She said before the tears spilled down her cheeks. Emmett immediately wiped his hands on a towel before scooping Kylie up in his beefy arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into shoulder.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay, baby, daddy didn't mean to holler at you. You can't have what Uncle Eddie and BB have but you want some choco milk?" He asked as he dug around in their diaper bag.

She nodded as she sniffled theatrically. "Okay, daddy." She conceded as he handed her the sippy cup full of chocolate milk which she immediately stuck in her mouth.

Rosalie just shook her head as she continued to peel and slice sweet potatoes for her grandma's famous sweet potato bake. I headed straight to the kitchen and began digging my supplies out of the pantry that I needed to make my mama's mushroom and broccoli casserole. I spied Alice layering her green bean casserole on the table with Jasper sitting there chatting with her.

"Morning, ladies." I told them as I laid my ingredients on the half of the bar that Rose or Esme wasn't occupying.

Rose laughed while Alice giggled. "It's more like noon, B." Alice said as she passed the casserole dish to Jasper to put in the oven. "350 degrees Jasper." She reminded him as she hopped up on a barstool and laid her hands across the small bulge on her stomach.

She had developed the cutest little bump ever that she showcased with her clothes. I also noticed that she was now wearing her wedding ring proudly. "I see you guys aren't hiding anymore." I told her with a smirk that effectively shut her up.

She smiled and shook her head. "Nope." She said popping the 'p' as she swung her legs back and forth as she picked up a handful of mushrooms to slice for me.

"How did the doctors' appointment go the other day?" I asked her as I chopped the broccoli. This was her second doctors' appointment since everybody found out about the pregnancy. The first sonogram had been unclear and the babies heartbeat was abnormal so the doctor had told her to come back in two weeks and they would check again.

Alice hung her head but I couldn't miss the smile that graced her face. "Doctor Sam said the babies are doing absolutely wonderful. Just where they are supposed to be for almost nine weeks." She said quietly.

I dropped my knife on the counter before clearing my throat. Nobody seemed to catch Alice's little slip but me. "Emmett can you do me a favor?" I asked him since he was paying rapt attention to Rosalie as she layered her sliced up sweet potatoes.

He didn't seem to hear my calling of his name. "Emmett." I said again snapping my fingers in front of his face to get his attention. He snapped his gaze to mine and smiled at me in forgiveness.

"What's up, Bells?" He asked sweetly.

I sighed and shook my head. "I need you to do me a favor." I told him.

He nodded but didn't say anything. "I need you to go away for a little bit." I told him and when he frowned but didn't move I put on my serious face. "Now, Em. You can have Rosie back in a minute. You guys ain't fooling nobody." I told him firmly which caused him to smile and head into the living room with the rest of the guys and the kids. "Spill it, Alice." I told her as I wiped my hands on a dish towel.

She smiled broadly and looked up at up with pride shown clearly across her face. "We found out that there were two heartbeats instead of one that's why it was considered abnormal the first time but we won't find out what they are until we are sixteen weeks which will be a little while yet." She said quietly.

Rosalie threw her hands up in the air in celebration but Alice quickly shushed her before she could draw any attention our way. "Shh!" She said as she glared at Rose.

Rose slowly withdrew her hands and folded them slowly onto the countertop as she grinned at Alice. "That's great, Ali, you will make a great mother." She said with a wistful smile as she gazed at Emmett and his girls.

I reached over and laid a hand on top of hers and smiled at her. "You will make a great mother someday too Rose." I told her with a soft smile.

She smiled back at me and shook her head slightly. "I won't ever be anybody's mother. I have Turner's Syndrome which caused me to be born without any ovaries." She informed us sadly.

"Oh Rose…" Alice started sympathetically when I cut her off.

"That's nonsense, Rose. Just because you can't carry a child for nine months doesn't mean you can't be someone's mother. Esme and Carlisle don't have any biological children but ask them how many children they have." I told her with a smile.

Esme poked her head between me and Rose. "We are proud parents to four amazing children and always have openings for more." She said as she kissed me and Rose both on the cheeks. "And congratulations Alice on the double announcement. I can't wait to meet my grandbabies." She said with a soft smile in Alice's direction.

"Who are the four children?" Rose asked curiously.

I chuckled. "Me and Jasper were her first because she has raised me since I was a baby and Jasper since he was eight years old. She has served as a mother figure for Edward since he was about thirteen or so, and Emmett has been her child since he came home with Edward for a visit almost six years ago." I explained to her as I slid my casserole dish into the oven beneath hers and Alice's.

The rest of the preparations were spent in laughter and the sharing of stories amongst all of us. Before any of us realized it, it was time to sit down for dinner. "Kylie Anne, you do not sling your food around here like you do at home. Understood?" Emmett asked his oldest daughter as he fastened her into her booster seat that Esme always kept stored away for when they visited. Because it was inevitable if they visited they were going to eat something also.

"Okay, daddy." She said with a beautiful smile on her face which caused Emmett to groan and the rest of us to laugh because he was paying for his pranks ten fold.

Esme just laughed as she cut up pieces of turkey and ham for her and Rylie. "That's what we have Buckshot for, Em." Esme said as she nodded her head in the direction of Buckshot who lay asleep on his pillow in front of the roaring fireplace.

He just nodded and kissed his beautiful daughter on top of the head before taking his seat beside her. She was sandwiched between him and Rose while Rylie was perched in her Papa's lap happily gurgling away. "Pa, you know you can put her in her highchair. You don't have to hold her." Emmett said as he watched Carlisle struggle a bit with gathering his dinner.

The look Carlisle shot Emmett shut up any further argument or comments from Emmett. "Who's going to start?" Esme asked as she put Kylie's plate in front of her and handed Carlisle Rylie's.

I took a deep breath and spoke. "I guess I will. Despite Charlie's intentions I am thankful for my sisters being here and getting to share what I love about this place and the people that I love. I am thankful for all of my family and friends and their support through all of this. I am also thankful for this wonderful man that I was finally smart enough to allow back into my life again." I said with a clear strong voice as I looked at all the smiling faces around the table.

Edward cleared his throat because he was next. "I am thankful for this amazing woman sitting beside me as well and her finally giving in and giving me another chance to make our souls happy. I am also thankful for all the family and friends that surround me." He said as he squeezed my hand under the table. Alice went next.

She cleared her throat and smiled at all of us and winked at Rose and I. "I am thankful for Charlie, the evil bastard that he was, because without him I wouldn't have met my soul mate or my sisters. I am also thankful for the health of my babies." She said with a broad smile because she had just told the entire room that they were expecting twins.

"Babies?" Carlisle asked her and Jasper.

They both nodded eagerly with jaw-splitting grins on their faces. "Yeah, Pa, we're having twins." Jasper said confidently.

"Congratulations, you two, you guys are going to make amazing parents." Carlisle said as he fed Rylie a piece of turkey when she started to get antsy.

Jasper cleared his throat and began his thankful speech. "I am thankful for Charlie ultimately bringing me my wife and my children. I am also thankful for everybody who sits at this table because without all of you I wouldn't be the man that I am today." He said softly.

Around the table the thankful speeches went until we had all said our thankfulness. "Can we eat now?" Emmett whined worse than any kid sitting around the table.

Esme nodded and all of the adults dug into the delicious food prepared by everybody until we were all groaning at our full stomachs. "Why did you guys let me eat so much?" Emmett complained as he laid his head back against my big chair that he and the little girls were sprawled out in. Kylie was asleep against his side and Rylie was asleep across his chest.

I just laughed as I snuggled into Edward's side as we sat together on the love seat together. I was sitting on one end and he on the other with our legs spread out between us. We had tried laying with me between his legs against his chest but that put too much pressure against his stomach so this is how we ended up. "Nobody forced you to eat four plates of everything, Em." I told him as I massaged my protruding stomach lightly.

He groaned as I reminded him just how much he had eaten. "I know but it was so good." He said groaning again.

Kylie groaned out "Daddy?" as she snuggled further into his side.

"Yes, sweetheart?" He asked her as he tucked her blanket back around her.

"Be quiet. I tryin to sweep here." She mumbled sleepily.

I laughed quietly as he rolled his eyes and laid his head back again and closed his eyes. "Okay sweetheart. I'm sorry."


	13. Chapter 13

**This week has been really rough for me as I say goodbye to my father once and for all.**

**Hope this chapter makes folks out there happy because it makes me happy to read each and every review I get.**

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Chapter 13 (2370)

The weeks succeeding Thanksgiving were amazing to say the least. We all got into a normal daily and weekly routine that seemed to work for our crazy little family that we had become. Emmett and Rosalie were practically inseparable as they finally admitted their feelings for one another a few days after Thanksgiving. Emmett had even let Rose take over Rylie's first birthday which kind of surprised all of us since normally Esme is the one that had planned both of Kylie's. It had turned out amazing and we all had a blast, it had been a balloon party and the girls had a blast throwing the balloons around the house.

Now we were all getting ready for the Christmas holidays and it was exciting to say the least. I had made my way into Cheyenne and spend and obscene amount of money on Christmas lights and ornaments for the tree that I had picked out and Edward hauled back to my house. It wasn't a huge tree by any means, it was only seven feet tall and probably five feet wide. I was excited to get home to decorate the tree and the house.

On my way back from Cheyenne with all of my Christmas decorations I had noticed that someone had bought the Hanley ranch that had been for sale for almost a year now. It used to be a small cattle operation until Mr. Hanley died and his daughter put it up for sale. I stopped and drove up the driveway to introduce myself to my new neighbors. I pulled to a stop beside a huge U-Haul looking around at me for someone.

I smiled when I noticed a redheaded woman step out onto the porch. I turned the truck off and climbed out to go introduce myself. "Hi there!" I called to her as I trudged through the trampled snow.

She turned around in surprise and I noticed that she was hugely pregnant and beautiful. "Hi." She said in a quiet shy voice.

I stuck my hand out. "I just wanted to come introduce myself to you guys when I noticed that the driveway had been cleared and the for sale sign taken down. I'm Isabella Swan from the next ranch up on the right." I told her as she gently shook my hand in return.

"Victoria Lawson." She said quietly. "It's a pleasure to meet some neighbors. My husband, James, and I just bought this place a few weeks ago. We've always wanted a cattle ranch and now we have one with no cattle." She said with a laugh.

I laughed with her because I was in the opposite predicament with a cattle ranch that I didn't want loaded down with cattle. "I understand completely. My family and I are getting out of the cattle ranching business in a few months so good luck to both you and your husband."

She nodded and looked around. "Thank you. We 've been working on a ranch in Montana for about ten years now but we decided that since we are about to become a family it was time to branch out on our own." She said as she rubbed her protruding stomach.

I nodded at her stomach and smiled. "My sister is pregnant also, although she's only three almost four months pregnant. Congratulations on both the ranch and the baby." I told her sincerely.

She smiled broadly. "Thanks so much. I can't wait to meet this little one." She said rubbing her stomach soothingly. "She's due towards the end of January. Wait just a minute and I can introduce you to my husband." She told me as she opened the front door and hollered inside. "James! Come here!"

I heard loud footsteps as they ran down the stairs. "What's up, babe?" I heard him ask.

"Our neighbor is here and I would like to introduce you guys. She owns and operates the next ranch up the road." She explained as a shaggy blonde headed guy stepped out the door tugging it closed behind him. He immediately gave me the creeps but I maintained my composure. "James this is Isabella. Isabella this is my husband James." Victoria said making the introductions.

I smiled and shook his offered hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you James. I hear you are wanting to start a cattle ranching business?" I said trying to make polite conversation as I fidgeted trying to stay warm.

He nodded and looked around. "Yeah, it doesn't look like I'm gonna be doing anything till spring though besides getting settled in." He said sadly.

I smiled. "How many head of cattle are you looking to buy come spring?" I asked him curiously. We may have found they buyer of our cattle, feed, and equipment if he wanted to buy it for the right price.

He shrugged. "This ranch is only a little over 200 acres so probably about 500 head or so. Why?" He asked cocking his head to the side.

I just smiled at him. "Just wandering. I may be able to help you find a good deal come spring. Good luck getting everything set up you two and congrats on the place and the baby. I'll see you around sometime maybe." I told them as I headed off the porch and for my truck where warmth would be pretty quickly.

"Bye Isabella!" They both called and waved from the front porch. I waved back as I hopped in my truck cranking it and the heat up.

I was giddy with good news by the time I made it to the house. Rosalie had taken to watching Emmett's girls for him during the day while he was at work so that they could get to know one another and the girls absolutely adored Rosalie and vice versa. Esme had retired fully even though she cooked lunch once a week for everybody at my house so everybody was there waiting on me since I was supposed to have been home close to an hour ago. I quickly grabbed what packages I could and hurried inside ever mindful of the snow and ice. "Guys! Guys!" I called as I struggled with the front door.

The door was wrenched open to reveal the man of my dreams. Edward looked amazing in his blue jeans, t-shirt, and open flannel shirt with his old UCLA hat on his head. "What's got you so excited my love?" He asked as he took some packages from me so I could kick my boots off.

I smiled and emulated Alice by literally bouncing in place. "I think I found someone to buy the cattle, feed, and everything." I told him as I finally freed myself from my snow covered boots and launched myself inside the warm house.

"Really? Who?" Carlisle asked from his spot at the kitchen island.

I laughed and began relaying what had just happened with meeting the Lawson's. Carlisle was ever the most level headed of us all. "Don't get ahead of yourself, sweetheart. Let's wait to spring and see what happens." He said as he placed a hand over mine in a comforting gesture.

I took a deep breath. "You're right, Pa. I know you are but it's still exciting that the prospective buyer may be right up the road." I told him as I wrapped him in a quick hug before turning to Esme. "What's for lunch, Ma?" I asked her eagerly.

Over the past few weeks I had looked up Turner's syndrome several times to become better acquainted with Rose's disorder so I could better sympathize and relate to her issues. I had a few questions and decided that today would be the day that I got the answers to those questions. "Rosie, I have a question for you about TS?" I asked her as we dug into the steaming chicken and dumplings Esme had fixed for lunch.

She nodded for me to continue. "Aren't you a little tall to have TS? I read that short stature is a main characteristic of TS, why are you so tall?" I asked shyly causing everyone else to chuckle at my obvious embarrassment.

She just laughed and laid her fork down before answering me and all the curious faces around the table. "I was diagnosed as a baby so I took hormone treatments to limit the effects of TS. The fact that my mom is over six feet tall probably doesn't hurt either." She explained before picking up her fork and digging in again.

Alice spoke up next. "Does it affect you in any other way beside infertility?" She asked as she rubbed her ever growing bump that housed her two babies.

She sighed and nodded. "I have a congenital heart defect that required open heart surgery when I was a few months old, that is when it was found out that I had TS. Everything is good now, but I had to have one of my valves repaired cause it wasn't working right." She said.

"Are you okay now?" Alice asked as her lower lip quivered.

Rosalie smiled and nodded. "I am perfect now. The only reason I had to take the hormone therapy was to go through puberty like most girls do and also to promote my height. I still take hormone treatments daily but that is just because I don't have any ovaries to produce the normal hormones like you guys." She said before flipping her hair over her shoulder and winking at us. "Trust me, you don't want to see me when I forget my pill every day."

We all just laughed and finished our lunch before heading our separate ways. Alice and Jasper headed into town to do some shopping. Carlisle and Edward headed outside to do something. Rosalie, Esme, and I were cleaning the kitchen up while the girls were taking a nap in what used to be Charlie's room.

Rose smiled at me with a wicked smile that would make the lesser person cower in a corner as she dried the last plate I had just handed her. I just smiled at her and waited for her to ask whatever she was wanting to ask. "Just spit it out, Rose, I haven't got all day." I told her when I had gotten tired of the playing the waiting game.

She just giggled before asking as Esme propped up against the counter watching us curiously. "When are you and Edward going to move in together? You never spend a night apart anymore. It's a natural step in your relationship, Bella." She said before she reached up and put the plate away in the cabinet it belonged in.

I sighed and laid my head on the island in exasperation because Edward had asked me the same question just last night and I told him I would have to think about it. "I don't know, you guys. It's a big step. Why don't you ask Emmett and the girls to move in with you? It's a natural step in your relationship, Rosalie." I fired back.

She shrugged. "I asked. He said yes. They're moving in this weekend. What's your excuse?" She fired right back at me. I just stood there gaping at her like a fish out of water as Esme just cackled behind us.

"Oh Juliet, we're back! Do you have an answer for me yet?" Edward sang from the living room where he and Carlisle were presumably stripping off their jackets and boots.

I groaned and rolled my eyes at Rose and Esme as we waited patiently for all of them to enter the kitchen where we were still standing. Edward kissed me on top of the head as he gripped my hips in his hands tugging me into his chest. "Oh, Romeo, the answer is yes and is now too soon?." I asked him as I wound my arms around his neck.

He smiled down at me as he blinked a few times to gather his thoughts. "Really?" He asked quietly.

I nodded and tugged his head down to meet mine. "Yes, really. I don't want to spend another day or night apart."

Edward and I spent the rest of the afternoon moving his most important belongings into my house and finding a place for them. I had quickly figured out what he and Carlisle were up to when we walked outside to get our trucks. They had hung Christmas light all along the edge of the house making it light up like a Christmas tree.

We went back and forth with both trucks a couple of times to get his stuff moved in. It was during one of these trips that I questioned him about his horses. "Edward what about your horse training business?" I asked him as I slid one of his suitcases into the back of his truck.

He shrugged. "I can train horses anywhere, baby. It's no big deal. Come spring we can build another round pen off to the side that I can use for training and another small barn to keep the horses while I train them."

I sighed and nodded. "Is that really going to be okay with you?" I asked him as he slid a box in beside his suitcase.

He nodded and tugged me to him. "It's perfect with me, baby, I promise. I can store Aladdin and Snickers in your barn. Carlisle and I scoped it out earlier and there is plenty of room for them in there."

Later that night, Edward and I were lounging on the couch relaxing as we watched a movie on the huge TV he had brought from his house. Edward and I were lying side by side on the huge leather couch with the fire crackling behind us and Jason Statham racing on the huge wall mounted TV. We had decorated the Christmas tree with both my new ornaments and his old ornaments before relaxing for the evening. It looked amazing as the lights reflected on the window behind it casting a glow all over the corner of the living room.

"Are you okay with all the changes that have been happening lately?" Edward asked quietly as he fiddled with my fingers that were resting on my hip.

I nodded. "Yeah, things have been happening rather quickly but you and I are not really in a new relationship so it's all good. Just think a few short months ago I didn't know I even had sisters and now they are firmly intertwined in our lives forever. Maybe we should come up with a new name for the ranch since it's not really gonna be a ranch anymore?" I suggested as I snuggled further back into him pressing my hips into his feeling his ever present erection there.

"How about the S & C Ranch?" Edward suggested quietly.

I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. "Too original. I want something unique to us and nothing else. How about Secret Paradise Training?" I asked him as I thought about the secret pond that had become a refuge and paradise for us for years now and he was going to be training horses while I figured out what I wanted to do after we sold everything in the spring.

"Sounds perfect to me, baby." Edward agreed as he gripped my hips and nipped at my earlobe.

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**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Don't forget there is a link to photos associated with this story on my profile page. Sorry this one is so late in the day but it has been a really weekend for me as I have celebrated my father's life at his memorial service yesterday. Thanks to all the ones who have had me and my family in their prayers. All prayers were greatly appreciated! Please enjoy the chapter.**

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Chapter 14 (2202)

Now that the renaming the ranch issue had been settled we could get to the better portion of the evening. Breaking in the couch.

I groaned and rotated my hips against his erection to get my point across to him that I wanted it right here and right now. "Are you sure?" He whispered against my ear.

I nodded and groaned. "Please, Edward. Now." I begged him as he ran his fingers under the waistband of my pajama pants. "I need you so bad." I pleaded with him needlessly.

He chuckled and dipped his palm down further until he encountered my wet heat and swollen nub causing me to jerk in his arms. 'You are so wet for me, Isabella." He whispered as he slipped a leg between mine to spread me open more for his hand to explore.

I gasped as he quickly and stealthily slid a finger deep inside me. "Come for me, Isabella. Now." He urged as his finger stroked my g-spot harshly and his palm gave me the needed friction against my clit. I felt myself quickly approaching the edge and there was nothing I could do but hang on for dear life and enjoy the ride. And that is what I done.

As I gasped for breath from the amazing orgasm, Edward rolled us both off the couch and laid me chest down against the couch cushions as he stripped my clothes off of my limp body. Once he had us both undressed I had fully regained control of my body and it was aching in craving for his. I wiggled my hips back at him in anticipation. "We don't have anything, baby?" He groaned as he stroked up and down my back.

I shook my head. "It's fine, Edward. I promise. You are my forever." I told him urgently as he stroked his steel member through my soaked folds.

"Here we go, baby. Hold on tight." He told me as he quickly slid all the way into me causing me to arch my back, grip the cushions, and scream out his name.

After he thoroughly loved me on the couch he loved me on the rug in front of the fire. We spent the entire night laying in front of the crackling fire taking turns making each other beg for release.

A knock on the door the next morning sent us scrambling for our clothes and to the bedroom before someone caught us red handed and bare assed. "Hurry!" I hissed at Edward as I tugged my pajama pants up my legs.

"Hello? Open the damn door, it's cold out here! I hear you two in there." Alice screeched as she continued to pound on the door. "I can hear you hopping around in there. Your nieces are getting cold!" She said trying to hurry us up. I looked at Edward in confusion because I didn't think she had found out what the babies were yet.

Edward shrugged and tugged his pajama bottoms up his legs. He had his t-shirt in his hand as he went to the unlock and open the door. "Good morning, Ali!" He said as he stepped aside and let her into the house. "Where's Jasper?" He asked as he looked outside and didn't see him.

"He headed straight to the barn to load the hay onto the buggy. He told me to tell you to bring your asses." She said as she waddle walked on into the kitchen. "Morning, Bella. You are looking awfully red this morning." She smarted as she headed straight to the refrigerator.

"Good morning to you, Alice. Did you guys find out the sexes of the babies already?" I asked since she had spouted of that my 'nieces' were getting cold.

She shook her head. "I just think they are both girls but we will find out soon enough. Your brother needs to talk to you, Bella. Something happened this morning that has him all shook up and it was my sexual prowess either." She told me as she dug out my Lucky Charms and poured herself a huge bowl of them.

"Very funny, Ali!" I called to her as I headed after who had headed to our bedroom to get ready so we could go help Jasper before tending to the horses.

"Join me, Isabella." Edward called from the shower when he heard the bedroom door shut.

Who was I to deny temptation when it was presented to me in the form of a very naked Edward Masen who also happened to be very wet at the moment. Oh wait, I was wet too now that I thought about it. Just not in the same way he was.

I quickly stripped my clothes off and joined him in the shower. Needless to say, Jasper was very annoyed when we walked into the barn hand in hand almost an hour later.

"Is this the way things are going to be from now on? You bitched at me when Alice and I started dating about slacking on my responsibilities." He snapped as he hopped down from the loaded hay buggy. "You know, I could have stayed at home making love to my very pregnant and very horny wife also but I knew we had things to do!" He continued snapping.

I sighed and let go of Edward's hand and made my way to my brother and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'm sorry, bubba." I whispered into his chest quietly as I squeezed him tightly. "You didn't have to do all of this by yourself. You could have come in the house with Ali."

He shook his head and glared at Edward. There was still a lot of animosity and tension between Jasper and Edward, but they were trying to work on it. Baby steps. "It's not his fault so stop your glaring. Why don't you take Ali home and spend time with her and the babies. Edward and I can handle the feedings this morning." I told him as I looked back at Edward for confirmation.

Edward nodded and headed over to the stable to get the horses tacked up so we could hitch them to the hay buggy since the ground was too mushy for vehicles to get to them without rutting up the fields.

Jasper was immediately contrite. "I'm sorry, Bella, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's been a rough kind of morning." He said as he kissed the top of my head.

I nodded and patted him on the chest. "Alice told me something was bothering you. What is it? You, Ali, and the babies okay?" I asked him concerned about everybody. I could tell something was off but I couldn't figure out what it was but I knew he would either tell me or Alice.

He nodded. "Yeah, they are all fine. It's nothing to do with anybody here. It's Maria." He said quietly.

Maria was Jaspers' psychotic ex-girlfriend who didn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. Last I knew, she was in Texas somewhere shacked up with a big time oil baron. "What does she want this time?" I asked hesitantly.

He hung his head and shook it slightly as if what he was about to say was unbelievably hard. "How bad is it this time?"

He raised his head up. "She's dead." He said quietly.

"So how does that concern you?" I asked him. "Does Alice know about Maria?"

He nodded. "Yes, Alice knows all about Maria and her death doesn't particularly affect me but she has been keeping a big secret from all of us. A very shocking life altering secret. She reminds me of Charlie all over again."

"What is it? You know I hate surprises and secrets, bubba."

He nodded and took a deep breath before spilling his guts. "I have a set of twin daughters that are two years old in Texas." He said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

"Come again?" I asked him again as I looked out the open door and caught sight of Edward leading the Snickers and White Lightening towards the feed barn where Jasper and I were.

"I have a set of two year old twin daughters in Texas and I have to go get them tomorrow. Alyssa Michelle and Brooklyn Haley. Maria's lawyer called me this morning and told me that she had requested that I be notified of their existence upon her death." He told me angrily. "This is why we haven't heard from her in almost three years! Some fucking redneck oil baron is raising my daughters as his own!" He fumed as he kicked a bale of hay in anger.

"So when are you leaving? Does Maria's friend know you are coming to take the girls? How's Alice taking all of this?" I asked him concerned about how this was effecting my sister.

He nodded. "We are leaving in a few hours. He doesn't have a choice, they are my daughters not his. Alice is handling it like the star trooper that she is." He said softly at the thought of his pregnant wife sitting in my kitchen snacking as we speak.

I nodded. "Anything." I told him just as Edward walked through the wide doors.

"I need you to tell Ma and Pa and also get my house ready for the girls and rearrange things to fit all four of my kids." He said as he fished his wallet out of his back pocket. "Alice and I have decided to put the two babies in the room closest to us and the girls in the other room for right now until we get more rooms added on." He said as he fished out his credit card and handed it to me.

"I don't know how to buy for little girls, Jasper." I told him urgently.

He laughed as Edward looked at me curiously. "Why are you having to buy for little girls, baby?" Edward asked as he hooked the horses up to the buggy.

Jasper sighed and waved me on to tell the story. "Jasper just found out that he has a set of twin daughters in Texas from Maria and is going to get them in the morning to bring them home." I gave him the abbreviated version of all I had been told. "Speaking of," I turned back to Jasper ", when are you guys going to be back home? Are you going to be back in time or Christmas?" I asked him as I pocketed the credit cards since Christmas was next weekend. I didn't have to explain who Maria was to Edward, he knew all about her and her crazy antics.

"No later than next Wednesday because Alice has another doctors' appointment that day and we are hoping to get the girls checked out that day." He explained. I knew it wouldn't be as simple as going down there, picking them up, and coming back home. There would be legalities and paperwork involved in everything.

I nodded. "Okay, so that gives me a little over a week to get everything organized and stuff. You guys WILL be home just in time for Christmas. I just know it." I told him as I hugged him tightly before releasing him so he could go get his wife. "Good luck, Jasper, I love you." I told him as I kissed him on the cheek before climbing on the buggy beside Edward. "Give my nieces, all four of them, a huge and kiss from BB!" I called over my shoulder as Edward guided the horses out of the hay barn and out into the bitter winter wind.

"So, I wander how Alice is taking all of this?" Edward asked as we sat out bales of hay for the cows.

I shrugged my shoulders. "He says she handling like the trooper she is but I'm concerned about the babies. All four of them, but really this is typical Maria behavior if you ask me." I told him as I sat the last bale for this area out and dusted off my hands.

He nodded and held out his hand to help me back up into the buggy. "That it is. So, why don't you, Esme, and Rosalie head to Cheyenne and pick out some bedroom suits for the little girls." He suggested as he guided the horses to the next set out area.

I just looked at him. "And just what did you plan on doing for your new nieces?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

He just laughed. "All of us guys will clear out the room, paint the walls, and miss all of you ladies." He said with a sweet smile on his face.

I shook my head but sighed in resignation because it really was a good plan. "Sounds like a plan, Romeo. Let's get this done so we invite the others over for dinner and tell them all the good news." I told him as I leaned into his side soaking up some body warmth.

He nodded and we spent the rest of the morning tending to animals and setting the plan into motion.

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**Quite a turn of events, huh?**

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	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry, I know this one is a day late but things have been kind of rough for me lately. **

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Chapter 15 (2676)

It was now Wednesday night and Jasper had texted me a little bit ago to say that they were on their way home with three sleepy irritable ladies in tow. We were all scattered throughout Jasper and Alice's house doing various things to occupy our time until they got here. Esme and Carlisle were in the kitchen preparing dinner for the tired exhausted family. Edward and I were camped out on the couch keeping a check out the windows for any sign of headlights while Kylie and Rylie played in the floor in front of us. Rosalie and Emmett were in the big girls' bedroom putting the finishing touches on things to make it perfect for them. I squealed loudly when I saw their headlights hit the window. "They're here!" I called out to everybody as I bounced beside Edward.

He just laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders to try to contain some of my eagerness. Jasper and Alice both had texted us pictures of the girls and them together during the entire time they were in Texas. They were both adorable with curly blondish brown hair and big brown eyes that filled their cherubic looking faces, they were adorable albeit a little on the small side. They were identical, not a single noticeable difference between them in the multitude of photos we had received. George, Maria's oil baron boyfriend, had been understanding and really helpful by letting Jasper and Alice stay in one of his spare bedrooms to get the girls used to them before they whisked them across the country. Alice had taken pictures of their bedrooms in Texas so that we could have an idea of what they liked. Esme, Rosalie and I had spent several hours shopping around in Cheyenne and bought two beautiful bedroom suites that had convertible cribs in them. Jasper had told us to get convertible cribs because he had been informed that they rolled around a lot at night and would fall out of a toddler bed still.

All of the furniture was white to match the cribs across the hall. The walls were painted a pale light grey with bright pink curtains framing the windows and covering the closet since it didn't have any closet doors. Alice had a huge fear of smashing her kids' fingers in the closet door so they had opted to take out the ones in the nurseries until the kids were older.

Brooklyn's bedding pink with monkey's all over the place. Alyssa's bedding brown and light pink with teddy bears all over the place. All in all the room looked amazing and fit for two princesses who were going to have a hard enough time adjusting as it is. They each had little tables at the end of their baby beds with a lamp on it along with several wall pieces to define the corner and that side of the room as theirs. Jasper had texted and said that the easiest way to tell them apart was by the stuffed animals they carried around everywhere. Brooklyn was into monkeys while Alyssa was into teddy bears.

I heard the crunching of tires on the gravel and practically sprinted for the door but Edward grabbed me by the waist and tugged me back. "Be patient, baby, it's late and the girls are probably cranky since they traveled all morning and then had to be stuck at the doctors' office all afternoon." He reminded me patiently as we heard the SUV turn off and two car doors slammed shut.

"You're right, as always." I told him as I leaned back into his embrace.

He just chuckled when Alice hollered from outside. "I know you are all standing around so get your asses out here and help!"

I laughed and we all headed outside since we had all gathered in the living room. "Hey Ali, I've missed you." I told her as I hugged her gently. "How are all of my nieces doing?" I asked as I rubbed her small but firm baby bump as I looked in the back seat of their SUV.

She groaned. "These two are kicking my ass with all of this damn heartburn but those two are perfect little angels until it comes to bath time." She said with a smile on her face. "They are exhausted though, they fell asleep on the way home."

I nodded. "Did you guys stop for dinner?" I asked as we walked to the back of the SUV where the guys were unloading bag after bag and talking to Jasper.

She shook her head. "No, just snacks cause the girls haven't been very hungry since we got on the plane to come home." She said as Esme tugged her from me and into her own comforting embrace.

"How are you sweet girl?" She asked her as she kissed her on top of the head.

Alice lapped it up like a starving dog does when given food. "Tired and hungry." She said smartly.

"Well, I can't help with the tired part but I have a huge chicken just out of the oven waiting for your guys, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, and green beans." She told Alice as she led her towards the house still talking.

"Hey bubba, how's fatherhood treating you?" I asked him when he came and wrapped me up in a huge hug.

"It's great, sis, absolutely great. I know Maria kept them from me but she kept herself from them also." He informed me as he opened the back door and began gently unbuckling one of his daughters from her car seat.

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked as I watched him pluck the first sleeping child from her seat gently so as not to disturb her sleep too much.

"They had a nanny named Sherry that has raised them since they were born. She was very upset and distraught when we left this morning but we assured her she was more than welcome to visit anytime she wanted. She said Maria has only seen them a few times since they were born because they reminded her too much of me. They were like her very own children and we just ripped them from her." He said guiltily as he handed me the sleeping child.

I panicked slightly, not from fear of holding a child but scared she would wake up and not know who I was. "What if-" My words were cut off by Jasper laying the sleeping child in my arms.

"She knows who you are. They are both very bright girls, we have showed them picture after picture of all of you over the past week and they were excited to meet all of you guys." He said as he grabbed her fallen sippy cup and tiny stuffed monkey and laid in on her stomach before covering her with a soft pink blanket. "Take her in the house for me, please." He said as he kissed me on the head and moved to the other side of the vehicle.

I nodded but paused when I wasn't positive which one I had. I thought it was Brooklyn but I wanted to make sure. "Which one is this?" I asked him quietly.

He just chuckled. "The monkey and pink blanket belong to Brooklyn." He told me before ducking inside the vehicle again. I smiled down at the sleeping child and eased my way towards the house as he unbuckled his other child from the car. I was just about to step up on the doorstep when the child in my arms started wiggling around signaling that she was waking up. "Shh, sweetheart, it's okay." I told her softly as I made my way up the porch steps.

She blinked open her eyes to study me curiously. "BB?" She asked softly.

I smiled and nodded at her. "Yes, sweetheart, I'm BB. Are you hungry?" I asked as I shifted her so I could open the door.

"Uh huh." She said as she laid her head on my shoulder. "Daddy? Sissy?" She asked quietly as I turned around and pushed open the door with my back.

"They are right behind us, sweetheart." I told them as I nudged the door shut but not latched. "You ready to meet everybody else?" I asked her as I saw everybody standing around the living room while Rylie and Kylie starred up at us in curiosity.

She nodded. "Peepee." She said with wide alert eyes.

I nodded and sat her down on her feet. "Come on then, let's go peepee first." I told her as I smiled at everyone and led my niece down the hall to the bathroom.

That night we all go to know the girls a little bit better before they were put to bed and we all headed to our respective houses. The days following their introduction had been an eye opener for both Alice and Jasper according the multitude of phone calls we all received on a daily basis. Emmett and Rosalie received the most phone calls since Emmett had raised his girls by himself.

"Isabella." Edward whispered against my bare skin as kissed his way down my back.

I groaned into my pillow. "Hmm."

"Merry Christmas, baby, I have a present for you." He whispered as placed kissed across my hips.

"Then give it to me." I demanded as his hands gripped my hips and tugged me up until I was on my knees.

I felt him smile against the small of my back. "Are you sure you want it right now?" He asked as he reached around my hips and ran a fingertip through my already wet folds.

I nodded emphatically into my pillow. This was the most delicious way to wake up on Christmas morning especially since this is how we went to sleep too. "Yes, don't tease me with presents, Romeo." I told him as I tossed him a saucy look over my shoulder as I felt him dip his finger inside me which caused me to gasp out loud.

He shook his head. "All in due time, my love, all in due time." He said as he removed his finger and slid it through my wet folds a few more times before planting it firmly on my clit making small firm cirlcles over my swollen nub.

"Oh God!" I screamed into my pillow as I felt my orgasm quickly approaching a lot sooner than I had hoped it would but he was relentless and soon enough I felt myself reaching the top of the peak and just as I was about to fall over he slammed his entire length into me causing me to rare up and scream out loud as I clenched the sheets in my fists as my body went into sensory overload.

He was relentless as he pounded into me in long deep thrusts that never fully allowed me to come down from my orgasmic high. I felt something building and building inside me that I had never felt before. "Edward!" I screamed as he pulled out of me and stroked my clit hard causing me to gush all over him as my body convulsed in wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure. I didn't know what the hell had just happened but it felt absolutely amazing.

By the time he was done giving me my 'present' I was a limp saggy mess against our soaked bed sheets. "What the hell did you do to me?" I asked him a lay against his chest as we soaked in the bathtub after the amazing good morning love making that had left our bed soaked and sticky.

He just chuckled as he ran the soap covered sponge up my arms and across my chest. "Did you like it?"

I nodded against his shoulder. "Did I pee on us or what? That's never happened before." I asked kind of embarrassed.

He shook his head and kissed the side of my head. "You squirted, my love, it's basically a very powerful orgasm that results in female ejaculation." He informed me.

"How come I've never done it before?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure but I was reading one of Emmett's medical magazines and it gave ideas and clues on how to get a female to squirt. I didn't figure it would hurt to try it out and see if it worked." He explained quietly as he dipped the sponge beneath the water to rub against my still sensitive center.

"OH!" I cried out as he circled my clit with the soapy sponge.

Edward just chuckled as he nipped at my neck. "I want one more, Isabella." He told me as he removed the sponge and replaced it with his deft fingers.

I shook my head. "I can't, Edward." I told him as my hips rocked to his fingers strokes.

"I know you can, Isabella, and I want it." He said as he nudged his hips against mine.

I silently raised my hips up when he paused in his strokes. "Edward…" I trailed off as he eased himself back inside my slippery folds. "….oh god." I panted as I just gave myself over to him fully. I didn't have the power to resist him when he was making my body feel so amazing like this.

"That's it, baby." He said as he stroked both the inside and outside of my causing me to convulse in his arms. "Give it to me." He said as his strokes gained strength and speed.

He quickly pulled out of me as he continued his firm strokes against my clit and I felt my body release again causing me to quiver and shake against his chest.

We took a shower together after he had finished loving me properly; his words not mine, since I couldn't stand up on my wobbly legs by myself.

"Are we still swinging by and picking everybody up?" Edward asked as he tugged his jeans up over his boxer brief clad tight ass. "You know I've missed these sleigh rides the past few years." He told me honestly.

I nodded as I tugged my sweater on over my head. "Yeah. Jasper texted and asked if we could swing by and pick them up first so the girls could ride in the sleigh to go pick up Ma and Pa." I told him as I pulled my hair out of my sweater. "I've missed you going on them with me too. I remember when we had our homemade sled and would ride around behind Gypsy."

He nodded. "I remember them days too and I miss them sometimes. I just hope they bundle the girls up really good cause it's snowing outside again." He said as he tugged his own sweater on over his well-defined hard working eared ripped abs. "I'm gonna go get the Gypsy hooked up to the sleigh." He said as he sat down in the chair and slid his feet into his boots.

I nodded and tugged my own jeans up my legs. On a normal winter day we both wore flannel long johns under our clothes but we would be bundled up in the sleigh and wouldn't be out very long so we opted to go without. "I'll be out in a minute. I'm gonna go get the hot chocolate ready for everybody." I told him as I tugged his head backwards so I could kiss his lips. "God, I love you and I'm so glad you are doing this with me this year." I whispered against his lips.

He smirked and tugged me onto his lap as he leaned back in the chair so we could finish our kiss properly. "I love you too, Isabella." His whispered as he ran his hands up the backs of my legs until he gripped my ass in his hands and tugged me down on his rigid length. "I can't get enough of you today, baby." He whispered against my lips.

I groaned and nodded. "Me either, but we made promises and this is a family tradition, mister." I told him as I pecked him lightly on the lips several more times as I rocked my hips into his. "Maybe the cold will do you some good." I told him as I hopped off of his lap and scurried away.

He reached out and smacked me on the ass as I pranced out of the room. I yelped and raced into the kitchen away from him.

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	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter 16 (3009)

We quickly went about our tasks and as I placed the cups and thermoses of hot chocolate into the cooler I heard the jingling of the Christmas sleigh that Gypsy pulled every year. Charlie had hated the thing but I bought it with my own money and stored it in 'my' shed so he couldn't mess with it. It had been a huge battle between Charlie and I over the fire engine red, bell bedecked, Christmas sleigh but I had won in the end.

I was slipping on my gloves and scarf just as Edward was stomping the snow off his boots on the front porch.

"Where are all the blankets?" He asked as he slid in the front door.

I pointed to a trunk where we stored all the blankets used on the sleigh ride. "Everybody will bring their own also." I told him as he opened the trunk and got the thick fleece lined blankets out and started hauling them outside.

A few trips later and we were deemed ready to go. "Jasper and Alice's house first." I reminded him as I covered our laps with a blanket. I was thankful that I had gotten a four bench sleigh because all of us wouldn't fit in anything smaller. The sleigh had three padded bench seats plus the cushioned driver bench up front. It was plenty big enough to fit everybody. I hadn't originally wanted one this big but it was the same price as the smaller one. I usually went up town a few times a winter and gave the kids at the orphanage a sleigh ride around the block.

Edward nodded and jerked the reins which sent Gypsy into motion. "Good morning, Gypsy!" I hollered up at him and he nodded his head as he continued his path to Alice and Jasper's house. "Gypsy, go to Jasper's house." I told him and he turned in the direction of Jasper's house.

Edward laid the reins down and tugged me into his side and wrapped a blanket around our shoulders. "Merry Christmas, Isabella." He whispered against my hair.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. "Merry Christmas, Romeo." I whispered back.

We settled in for the ride around the property as we picked up the family. Jasper, Alice, Brooklyn, and Alyssa were all standing on the front porch when we started to descend the little hill that blocked their house from the main house. They were all bundled up tightly and I saw that Jasper had a small pile of blankets and a huge red bag full of presents beside his feet. "Merry Christmas guys!" I called as Gypsy came to a slow halt in front of their house.

"Merry Christmas, Bella." Alice and Jasper both said as the girls peeked at us from behind their legs.

I giggled lightly because it was obvious that the girls were curious of Gypsy but were scared of his sheer size. "It's okay girls, he's just a big baby. He's my baby." I told them with a bright smile. "You wanna come riding in the sleigh?" I asked them cheerfully. "I have hot chocolate with mini marshmallows in it." I told them as I pulled the thermos out of the cooler showing it to them.

They both nodded and looked up at their father for permission. "Let's go." He said as he stepped off the porch and helped them climb into the sled. "Here's their cups." He said as he handed me two empty sippy cups, one pink and one green.

"How was the first few nights at home?" I asked them as they got situated before we started moving again.

Alice and Jasper groaned. "I think I am beginning to believe when Sherry told us that even the smallest late afternoon nap will keep them up till all hours of the night. We didn't get in the bed until almost one o'clock and they woke up crying around seven. Almost every night." Jasper said as he handed each of the girls a sippy cup.

"Thanks, daddy." They both echoed before popping their cups in their mouth and drinking greedily.

I just laughed at their eagerness. "Welcome to parenthood you two." I told them as I turned back around and faced the front so the girls wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Let's go get Em, Rose, and the girls, Gypsy." I called to my horse who knew this routine by heart but things were changing a little bit this year so I grabbed the reins and led him to what was now Rose and Emmett's house.

Once we picked up Emmett, Rosalie, Rylie and Kylie along with their pile of blankets and huge bag of presents I guided Gypsy towards Carlisle and Esme's house as the little girls giggled at the falling snowflakes and the bells on the side of the sleigh. "You girls wanna sing a song?" I asked them as we slowly made our way across the snow.

They all cheered as the adults all groaned because they knew what was coming. 'Jingle Bells' was coming because it had a version of my name in it.

I started it off "Dashing through the snow" I sang loudly as my phone played the music in the background. "In a one horse open sleigh; o'er the fields we go laughing all the way." I continued loudly as everybody else joind in. "Ha Ha Ha! Bells on bobtail ring making spirits bright. Oh what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight."

We sung the song all the way to Carlisle and Esme's and finished the last verse just as we pulled to a stop beside their porch. "Merry Christmas Ma and Pa." I told them as they loaded their big bag of presents into the sleigh before climbing in between Rose and Emmett and Alice and Jasper so they were in the middle of all their granddaughters.

"Merry Christmas everybody!" They said as they laid a blanket across their laps. Just when I thought everybody was situated, Kylie and Rylie begged to sit in "Meme and Poppy's lap" for the ride around the property and back to the house.

Edward kissed me gently on top of my hat as we waited patiently for everyone to get settled. "Anybody back there want some more hot chocolate?" He asked once everyone was still.

Everybody cheered so I busied myself with passing out cups of steaming hot chocolate to the entire sleigh as sippy cups were passed forward for Edward to fill. Once everyone was settled in with their blankets and hot chocolate I whistled to Gypsy to let him know that he needed to head out. "Just a small trip over the hill and back home, boy." I informed him. He took off in a gentle trot much to the delight of everybody.

By the time Gypsy slid to a halt in front of the porch most of us were hankering for some heat and food.

"Thank you for riding on the Secret Paradise Training sledding tours!" I said sarcastically using the new name for the ranch as Edward and I waited for everybody to unload so we could go unhook Gypsy and get him some warmth and feed too.

"Secret Paradise Training?" Jasper asked as he handed Haley to Alice who was standing on the front porch waiting.

I nodded. "Yeah, we are renaming the place. Once last final jab at Charlie I guess and a fresh start for all of us. What do you think?" I asked him and he smiled and nodded. It's not like it really mattered since we were finding new careers come spring.

"I like it. Want Carlisle and I to go feed the cattle really quick?" He asked as he handed Emmett and Rosalie bag after bag of presents, leaving the blankets in the sleigh.

"You can if you want to. They shouldn't need anymore. We put extra out yesterday so that we wouldn't have to haul hay out to them today. Just do a quick check on them." I told him as Edward hopped out of the sled and grabbed Gypsy's reins to hand lead him to the barn so we could park the sled right inside the doors for the trip around town tonight to see all the lights.

Jasper and Carlisle both nodded and headed for the barn ahead of Edward and I leaving Rosalie, Esme, and Alice to deal with the five children including Emmett who was the biggest kid of all of us.

Three hours later I groaned as I lay back on the couch with a hand over my stomach. "Oh God, why did you let me eat so much?" I complained to the entire room just as he had at Thanksgiving.

Everybody just laughed. "There was no stopping you, Bella." Emmett reiterated just like I had back in November as he handed out the presents he had brought with him earlier. We were sorting out the piles of presents while all the kids took naps in Charlie's room now known as the nursery and play room.

While on our shopping expedition to Cheyenne Esme had suggested we buy a several playpens to store at our house but I had vetoed the idea and said we would just buy convertible cribs so that's what we had done. With six little kids soon to be congregating in our house, we had opted to buy three cribs knowing we could easily put two to a crib for just a nap for a while yet. "That is a lot of presents." I commented turning the subject away from exorbitant amount of food I had just finished eating.

Esme laughed. "Just wait until you and Edward start having kids." I looked at her in shock. "Don't look so surprised, Bella, it could happen easily with the chemistry you two put off." She said as she finished emptying her last bag out.

I shook my head. "Not right now, we want to enjoy ourselves for a little while first. If it happens it happens. We are just letting nature take its course." I told her knowing that Edward agreed with me on this subject. We had had a bad experience with pregnancy when we were seniors in high school that nobody knew about. Jasper didn't even know. I had lost our first baby when I was a little over five months pregnant with him. Charlie had been the reason I lost the baby. I shuddered as Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his side shaking me from the memories. Christmas always made me think of our lost little boy because that is when he was conceived.

"We want to enjoy being together without Charlie's scrutiny hanging over us. Maybe in a few years we will actively try to have one." He said aloud before turning his mouth towards my ear. "again." He whispered against my ear.

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry." I apologized quietly to him as I always did when I thought about our lost son.

He shook his head and smiled. "No need to be sorry. Not your fault." He told me fiercely.

I smiled and nodded before turning to face the entire group again. "When can we open our presents? I know I got some. Somewhere." I asked them as I looked at all of the overflowing piles effectively turning the conversation and attention back to Christmas presents.

Carlisle laughed and started handing everybody their piles. "It's always the snippy ones that get impatient on Christmas and birthdays." He said playfully as he started handing me my presents.

We all tore into our presents with glee. I ripped into all of my with the impatience of a two year old until Edward sat all of his presents aside and handed me a little blue box with a white ribbon around it that caused my hands to completely freeze. "What's this?" I whispered as I glanced back and forth between him and the box that obviously was from Tiffany's.

He smiled and got down on one knee which caused all movement in the room to cease and all eyes turn towards us. "Edward-"I started but stopped when he placed a finger over my lips.

"Let me." He asked quietly as he opened the box to reveal the small black velvet one hidden within and placed that box in my hands. "I have spent more than half of my life being in love with you and the other half just being your best friend. I know your dreams, wishes, and fears as well as I know my own and I know the prospect of forever with one person is scary for you and it is scary for me to but together maybe it won't be so scary. I know our past but that is in the past and our future awaits us and I want to share that with nobody but you. I also understand that we haven't been together all that long this time around but I don't think we need time together when fate and destiny is on our side. We are meant to be together forever and forever is what we will have. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, riding our horses through the snow, raising our kids together, waking up by your side every morning and going to bed by your side every night. Please help me achieve our dreams. Isabella Swan, will you marry me?" He asked as I opened the little black box to reveal the most stunning ring I had ever seen.

It was two pieces but I suspected that the smaller single band of diamonds was supposed to be a wedding band. "Edward…" I paused as I looked back and forth between the rings and him.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I know traditionally the smaller band is supposed to be a wedding band but indulge me and let me buy you a whole new ring for our wedding bands as these to me represent our past and our present that will lead to a whole new future together for years to come. Marry me, Isabella Marie?" He asked again.

I heard all the gasps around the room but I couldn't do anything but focus on the amazingly sweet man who was in front of me and had just delivered the most amazing and heartfelt proposal I had ever heard. I couldn't do anything but look between him and the little blue box in my hands.

He laughingly plucked the box from my hands and opened it, showing me the most amazing ring I have ever saw. "You take too damn long, woman, I'm impatient." He said with a smile. "Baby, will you marry me?" He asked for the third time as he slid the ring on my finger.

I threw my arms around his neck flinging myself into his arms causing us to fall in the floor with me on top of him in my excitement. "Yes." I whispered against his lips. "A thousand times, yes." I whispered before sealing our lips together. Apparently the third time was the charm!

Our entire family cheered all around us causing the little girls to wake up. The rest of the evening was spent opening presents and the women oohing and ahhing over my gorgeous ring. It was a small round diamond that had two tiny ring like bands wrapping around either side of it before hooking it all into a band of diamonds that ran half way down the band of the ring. The second part was a simple small band with diamonds all the way around it. I also got a new glove, scarf, and hat set from Edward. I got some beautiful picture frames from Esme and Carlisle. I got some gorgeous pictures of Edward and I from Rosalie and Emmett that I hadn't even known they'd taken. I got a manicure/pedicure set from Alice and Jasper.

Now, it was time to load everybody back up into the sleigh so we could go to town and see all the Christmas lights. It was a relatively short trip once Gypsy got to trotting. The whole thing took about an hour tops and the older little girls were very excited to go. "Should we put the canopy on?" I asked Edward as we headed to the barn.

"How hard is that thing to stick on? It might be a good idea with the little girls going too." He said as we detoured to my little shed where it was stored. It looked like an old timey wagon canopy but it worked and it would keep the wind off of everybody.

"It just snaps on once the poles are in the holes." I told him as I helped him drag it outside to open it up. "It's just dusty." I told him as we opened it up and shook it out the best we could.

We folded it back up and headed towards the main barn where the sled and Gypsy were stored. "Just line up the poles with the holes on top and you will hear them click into place." I told him as we lifted the first set of poles into place and heard two tiny clicks. The rest of the canopy took no time at all getting set into place. "It's the snaps that take forever." I told him as I eyed the long row of snaps. It snapped all along the bottom of the sleigh with zippered doors that opened to let people in. After we got all the snaps snapped together, Edward went to get Gypsy to hook him up while I 'rolled' all the 'windows' down.

Once we were finished, I climbed aboard as Edward led Gypsy out the other end of the barn before hopping up with me. "Well, Mrs. Masen, are you ready for our trip around town?" He asked as he picked up Gypsy's reins since we were going into town.

"I'm not Mrs. Masen yet. Speaking of when do you want to get married, Edward?" I asked him as we slowly made our way to the porch where everybody was waiting.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Soon. Do you want a big wedding or a small one?" He asked as he wrapped the blanket snuggly around us both, tugging my legs over his and firmly into his side as he held onto Gypsy's reins lightly.

I groaned. "I wished we could do like Alice and Jasper did. Run off to Vegas." I quipped lightly, half serious.

He looked at me in shock. "Why don't we then? We can go down on New Year's and do it." He tossed out there just as we neared the edge of the porch.

I nodded eagerly and whispered "Yes, let's do it." in his ear.

He looked at me in shock and I just nodded and smiled at him. "It's a date then."


	17. Chapter 17

**So here is a little Christmas time bonus for all of those who read this story of mine. I hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it. There are pics associated with this chapter that the link can be found on my profile page.**

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Chapter 17 (3154)

The rest of Christmas was amazing. The kids at the orphanage had a really nice time and even Victoria and James begged us for a quick ride so we took them for one as well. Unlike Jasper and Alice we had told everybody exactly what our plans were and the women all jumped into immediate action to make our Vegas wedding special for us. That is where we were currently heading.

I gripped the edge of my seat as the wheels of the airplane touched the runway. "Nervous? Cold feet?" Edward asked as he unclenched my hand from the death grip I had on the arm rest.

I shook my head. "Just don't like flying." I told him through clenched lips.

He just laughed. "You get used to it eventually."

I shook my head. "Don't plan to fly that much."

"What are you going to do on the flight to Hawaii?" He teased me gently since he had immediately booked us a two week honeymoon in Hawaii as soon as we got back from the scenic tour on Christmas Day.

I groaned and laid my head back against the headrest as the airplane started slowing down. "The flights themselves ain't so bad, it's the taking off and the landing that scare the shit out of me." I told him as the flight attendant came on telling us to enjoy our stay in Vegas.

"Ready to get hitched?" He asked as he pulled out carry-on's from the over-head compartments.

I nodded and smiled brightly at him. We were booked to leave for Hawaii at eleven o'clock tonight on a private jet so we only had about seven hours to explore, get married, and get back for our flight. "Absolutely. Have you ever been to Vegas before?" I asked him as we strolled hand in hand out of the airport and into the waiting limo that the chapel had offered when we had booked our wedding.

He nodded as we approached a tall slender man leaning up against a limo with a sign that read 'Masen' dangling between his fingers. . "Emmett and I actually came a few times while we were in college and a few of our friends live here now." He informed me as he smiled at the limo driver who opened the door for me to allow me to slide inside the luxurious car.

Edward whispered something to the limo driver before sliding inside the car and settling beside me. "What was that all about?" I asked him as the driver shut our door before going around to climb in behind the wheel.

Edward just shook his head and kissed me gently. "I asked him to give us the scenic tour down the strip because this was my fiancée's first time in Vegas. You can open the sunroof by pushing that button right there." He said indicating a small button beside the enormous sunroof. I smiled at Edward and pushed the button that opened the enormous sunroof and stood up popping my head out the window so I could see the lights of Vegas. "Edward, this is amazing!" I exclaimed as I looked all around me.

He just chuckled and joined me at looking at all the beautiful lights that were passing us by slowly. "You are amazing." Edward said as he locked his lips to mine in a passionate kiss that left his intentions known.

When we separated I was gasping for breath. "Edward we can't…" I trailed off as I saw the determined look in his eyes. "I've never…" I trailed off again when he got that sexy smirk on his face. "What about…" He just smiled before ducking back inside the limo cutting me off yet again.

I gasped when I felt his fingers deftly undoing the buttons of my jeans before tugging them down my hips to pool around my ankles. I ducked back inside the limo to find him working on his own pants. "Un uh. I wanna do that." I told him as I sank to my knees between his legs and began undoing his pants to give me access to what was about to legally become mine.

Having sex in the back of a moving limo is a lot easier said than done but thankfully the limo driver kept driving around until we were a pile of sweaty tangled limbs. "We will arrive at Graceland in ten minutes, Edward.." The driver announced over the intercom.

Edward groaned and pushed a button before speaking out loud. "Okay thanks, Jared, I owe you big time."

I looked over at him curiously because I don't remember the limo driver ever giving us his name. "Edward? Jared?" I asked him as I tugged my panties and jeans back up around my hips.

Edward groaned and nodded. "Yeah, it was luck of the draw that he saw my name in the pile of reservations. We went to college together. He owns the limo company that contracts out to several wedding chapels around town." He told me as he tugged his own jeans up.

I suddenly felt insecure and began wondering if they had pulled this trick on other girls over the years. "Have you ever done this before? Use this charade to get laid?" I asked angrily as I pulled my hair back into a ponytail holder.

Edward shook his head. "Absolutely not. I have never had sex in a limo before and this is the first time I've seen Jared in a couple of years." He told me as he pushed a button that lowered the divider. "Jared, I would like for you to meet my beautiful fiancée, Isabella Swan soon to be Masen. Baby, I would like for you to meet a good friend of mine, Jared Cameron." Edward said as he motioned back and forth between us.

I smiled at Jared. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jared." I told him as he smiled and nodded through the rearview mirror at me.

"It's nice to finally be able to put a face to the name that plagued all of Edward's conversations for years." Jared said as he pulled up beside our hotel. "Here we are, Graceland Wedding Chapel, where every marriage has a storybook ending. Congratulations and good luck." He said as he tipped his hat at us before we climbed out.

I gasped as I looked at the beautiful wedding chapel that was elegantly lit against the dark Nevada sky. I wasn't worried about a dress as Edward wasn't worried about a suit since Alice had taken care of that particular detail. She had our wedding attire shipped to the chapel and it was apparently waiting for us. "You ready to do this?" Edward asked as he grabbed my hand in his and started us up the pebbled path that led to the front door.

I nodded eagerly. "Never been more ready for anything in my entire life." I told him as he opened the door and we were greeted by two young receptionists.

"Welcome to the Graceland Wedding Chapel. Did you have reservations?" The blonde receptionist asked as she smiled at us.

Edward nodded. "We did. It is the Swan and Masen wedding." He told her as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder tugging me firmly into his side.

She popped her bubble gum and tapped away on her computer. "Ah. I found it. You bought the deluxe wedding package, correct?" She asked without looking up.

"Yes, we did." Edward said tersely.

She nodded. "You both have clothes hanging in the dressing rooms if you would like to follow Melanie she can show you where they are at." She said as she nodded at the red head who hadn't spoken a word yet.

"Please follow me." She said quietly as she led us down a short hallway. "Here are the dressing rooms. I followed the strict instructions your sister emailed me and gave to me over the phone." She said as she opened up what was obviously the woman's dressing room since it had light pink furniture scattered around in it.

"Thank you so much, Melanie. It shouldn't take us too long to get ready because we have a flight out in a few hours." I told her as she unlocked the men's dressing room for Edward.

She nodded. "The photographer will be ready whenever you are, as is the minister, since you paid for a total of two hours." She said.

We both nodded before stepping into our dressing rooms and smiling at each other before shutting the doors gently.

I smiled as I unzipped the dress bag and smiled at the beautiful detailed dress that was revealed. It was a two piece wedding dress since we was having to leave in such a hurry I had wanted something was versatile and this is what I had ended up with. I had wanted something that I could leave on with a pair of jeans and a shoulder jacket so that we could go gambling a bit before catching our flight to Hawaii and that is what I got.

The top was a strapless dark purple satin material with silver beading all over it but I would need help tying the ribbons together since they were in the back. The bottom was a beautiful silky floor length skirt that was layered with a beautiful intricate white lace detail and silver beading to match the top. I had been a bit worried when Alice had told me that my top was going to be in full color but seeing them hanging up they were beautiful together.

I shucked my shoes and jeans before slipping into the skirt and securing it to my waist before stripping off my shirt and bra so I could slip the laced up corset over my head. I had originally been worried about the corset becoming uncomfortable after such a long plane ride over to Hawaii but Alice had shushed me and told me to trust her.

As I slipped the corset into place I knew she had been right to be trusted. The thing was actually very comfortable and felt like I had no clothes on at all. There was just one tiny little problem. I didn't know how I was going to get it tied securely so it would stay up by itself. Just as I was about to go ask one of the front desk ladies for help there was a soft timid knock on the dressing room door.

"Ms. Swan, Mrs. Whitlock told me to come offer my assistance after giving you half an hour." Said a timid voice that I recognized as Melanie from the other side of the door.

I breathed a sigh of relief before unlocking the door and ushering her inside. "I am so glad she thought of everything. I was just about to come ask one of you ladies to tie me up." I told her as I showed her my back where the ribbons hung loose down my skirt.

She just chuckled before she started tugging gently at the ropes starting at the top. "Your dress is amazing." She said as she worked her way down my back tugging the ribbons together. "I love the color. Most folks tend to stick to solid white or ivory but the dark purple works great with your ivory skin tone."

I blushed and looked over my shoulder. "Thank you, I was admittedly a bit worried about the dark purple color of the corset but it actually looks really good." I told her as I looked at myself in the mirror.

She nodded as I felt her tying the ribbons at the small of my back. "You look beautiful. The ribbons are tied securely and left trailing down your skirt per Mrs. Whitlock's instructions." She said as she stepped back. "Do you need help with anything else?" She asked as she wrung her hands together nervously.

I laughed lightly as I adjusted the skirt to even out the strip of skin that was meant to show between my top and bottom. "Don't let my sister fool you or scare you Melanie. She is pregnant with twins and has two more toddlers at home so you have nothing to fear from her. Plus she's lucky if she reaches five foot tall with heels on and before she was pregnant she might have weighed 90 pounds soaking wet." I told her as I tugged a brush through my hair before slipping my flats on underneath the skirt of the dress and fastening a single strand of pearls around my neck.

She sighed a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed. "Thank God, she is one scary person over the phone. Are you all set? Mr. Masen said to let you know that he is ready whenever you are." She said quietly.

I smiled and nodded. "I am all set. Let's get this show on the road." I told her as I flicked my long hair over my shoulder and stood tall.

She smiled and opened the door. "The photographer is waiting with Mr. Masen right through these doors." She said as she pointed to a set of double doors at the end of the hallway. I was stunned when I saw Edward in his sleek black suit with a shiny purple tie to match my top. He looked amazing and I couldn't wait to marry him.

After several poses in our wedding attire, we got onto the actual wedding ceremony. Edward and I stood facing each other at the end of the aisle holding hands as we recited our vows to one another. Edward in a suit did amazing things to my insides and it was hard to concentrate on my vows but I managed to get through all of them without fail.

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as the minister said "By the state of Nevada and the good Lord above, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Masen you may kiss your beautiful blushing bride." He said cheerfully.

Edward wrapped and arm around my slim waist and tugged me firmly into his chest as he slanted his lips across mine for a passionate kiss to seal our fates.

After a few signatures, some more pictures, and a quick change we were back in another limo heading for the strip so we could gamble for a little bit. Or at least that's what I thought but I became utterly confused when I saw us turn away from the strip and it's blinking lights. "Edward, where are we going?" I asked him as I continued looking out the window. "I thought we were going to one of the casino's for a few hours?" I continued questioning.

He just chuckled from behind me. "Esme and Carlisle chipped in our honeymoon since our wedding was here. They have paid for a chartered private jet to fly us from here to Hawaii." Edward explained as he relaxed back in his seat. He looked amazing in his dark wash blue jeans and the white dress shirt from his suit with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top few buttons undone.

I narrowed my eyes at him as I sat back in the seat, turning so that I drape my legs over his and snuggling into his side. "Just what have you done, Mr. Masen?" I asked him sultrily as I ran my fingers under the edge of his un-tucked shirt causing him to groan out loud.

"Just making sure my wife is comfortable and at ease on the way to Hawaii." He said huskily before smashing his lips to mine in a passionate kiss.

Before I knew it we were walking up the steps of a luxury private jet. I was blown away by the extravagance of our surroundings. My feet sunk into the plush carpet as soon as I stepped through the doorway. Standing before us was a casually dressed man who I presumed to be our pilot. "Welcome aboard, Mr. and Mrs. Masen, I am Gerald Irons and I will be your pilot tonight." He introduced himself with a thick British accent.

I nodded as Edward shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Irons. Are we ready to leave?" Edward asked as he sat our carry-on's down in one of the plush seats.

Gerald nodded. "We are sir. We were just waiting on you and please call me Gerald." He said as he pulled the stairs shut and latched the door securely into place. "If you will just take a seat and fasten your seatbelts I will get us on our way. Once we reach a stable altitude you will be able to get up and move around freely. It is quite a flight from here to Hawaii so feel free to use the bedroom that is down that hallway behind you." He said as he headed in the opposite direction which I assumed housed the cockpit.

30 minutes later captain Gerald's voice came over the intercom. "You may unbuckle your seat belts and move around freely. Please enjoy your flight to Hawaii we should arrive in a little over six hours." He informed us before clicking off the intercom.

Edward unbuckled his seat belt before reaching over and unbuckling mine too. "Come on, baby, time for us to join a new club." He had a shit eating grin on his face as he practically dragged me down the hallway and around the wall where the bed and bathroom were located. I looked at the comfy looking bed with a smug look on my face.

"Is this your plan to keep me happy and comfortable during our flight to Hawaii?" I asked as I tossed my jean shoulder jacket onto the chair that sat at the foot of the bed.

He nodded and crawled on the bed, hovering over my body on his hands and knees. "Is it working?" He asked as he placed kisses all across my exposed shoulders and upper chest.

I nodded and quickly wrapped my arms around his neck tugging him down flush against me. "Indeed it is, Mr. Masen." I whispered as I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging lightly.

"Good, Mrs. Masen." He said as he gripped my hips and rolled me over presumably so he could undo my ribbons holding my top together. I heard him groan as he tugged on the ribbons. "You mean to tell me this is all that's been keeping you covered?" He asked as he tugged the corset top open.

I nodded and raised my chest up so he could pull it from under me once he had the ribbon completely undone.

He replaced the corset with his hands and it was my turn to groan as we did indeed join the mile high club...all the way to Hawaii.

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	18. Chapter 18

**I hope everyone had a good holiday no matter how you celebrated it. Here is a new chapter, there is a bit of a time jump. We have four years to cover in this story so there are multiple time jumps throughout the next ten chapters or so. Don't forget, pic link is found on my profile. From here on out there are pictures associated with almost every chapter if you are interested.**

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Chapter 18 (3055)

We had been back from our honeymoon for almost a month now and it seems like we had all finally settled into a routine yet again. We had spent an amazing four weeks in Hawaii at a private villa that one of Edward's clients offered to us in exchange for two weeks of Edward's time when we were finished with the honeymoon. We accepted and after a month in the sun we spent two whole weeks in Georgia training two horses for one of his more prominent clients.

Now that we were back home, Edward and I got up every morning and did the morning feedings for both the horses and the cattle while Jasper and Carlisle handled the evening feedings of the cattle. While Edward was working with his horses in our paddock I would ride the fence line and check for anything out of the ordinary before cleaning out the stalls. We had family dinners twice a week, on Sunday's and Wednesday's, at our house since we had the biggest kitchen. Esme cooked and we all just hung out catching up on everything since we didn't see that much of each other anymore because we were busy settling into our own lives. We were closing in on Valentine's Day quickly, hell it is tomorrow, and I am getting frustrated because I didn't know what to buy Edward and I just knew he was going to buy me something because he had been really secretive lately and today wasn't any different.

We had a fire crackling in the background as we were perched on opposite ends of the couch with our laptops in our laps. "Have you done the books for this week?" Edward asked as he clicked away on his computer.

I nodded. "Yeah, I finished them last night while you were in the shower." I told him as I scrolled through several shopping sites looking for the perfect gift for him. Since I had my accounting degree and he had a business degree we each took turns going over the books. "I think James is interested in our cattle and stuff here. He approached me the other day while I was down at the road checking the mail. He and Victoria were walking trying to send her into labor." I told him quietly.

The snapping of his computer lid caused my gaze to jerk up to his. "Really? That's great. Is he going to offer a fair price for everything?" He asked as he slid his computer onto the coffee table in front of us.

I nodded my head. "More than fair. He is offering a quarter above market value for all the cattle and blue book value for all the equipment." I told him honestly

He cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "Cash or financed?" He asked as he took my foot in his hand and began massaging the ball of my foot causing me to close my computer and sigh in complete relaxation.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Cash for everything is what he told me. I think I want to go back to school for to turn my English minor into a major." I told him as I tossed the idea out there.

He nodded and tugged on my foot until I was straddling his hips with my arms resting on his shoulders. "The all cash deal sounds a little fishy, baby, we will have to check it out more before the deal is put through. You do whatever you feel like is right for you and I will support you 100 percent. You know that, love." He told me as he wrapped his arms around my waist loosely.

"I know, Romeo, and that is one of the reasons why I love you so much." I told him with a small smile.

He smiled and pulled me flush against his body as he stood up and led us towards the bedroom without ever breaking our lips or hips apart.

Hours later we were laying in our bed wide awake staring at the ceiling in the quiet solace of our bedroom when Edward broke the silence with one startling question. "Are you on birth control of any kind?"

I gasped and sat up straight in the bed and looked at him with big wide eyes. "No." I whispered quietly into the room as I counted back since I had my last period. I sighed when I realized as I had had it just a few weeks ago, about a week after we had gotten back from our honeymoon. "There was no need for me to be on it." I told him honestly.

He smiled and tugged me back down onto his chest. "I was just wandering. There is still no need for it, my love. We are married and in love and children will only make life better. It will happen when it happens. No rush." He told me as he kissed me on the side of the head before settling us back down in the bed.

I groaned when the alarm blared at a quarter to five and reached out a hand to slap it to shut it off only to realize it wasn't there. I groaned when I remembered that it was across the room because I was notorious for hitting the snooze button.

"I got it, baby." Edward said sleepily as he tossed the covers off of him and went to turn the alarm clock off.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I closed my eyes again already half asleep.

He just laughed as he left the bedroom for the kitchen where there was steaming hot coffee already brewing in the fancy coffee pot he had brought from his house when he had moved in a few months ago.

I was deep into dreamland again when the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit my nose and pulled me from it. "You don't play fair." I groaned as I rolled over and stretched before sitting up against the headboard reaching for the cup of coffee Edward held in his hands. "Thanks, husband." I murmured as I sipped at the steaming cup of caramel and chocolate flavored coffee.

He nodded as he sat himself down on the bed beside me as we sipped our coffee peacefully. "Please do me a favor?" He asked as he gazed out the window at the snow covered ground.

I nodded. "Sure what has you looking so serious this early in the morning?" I asked him quietly.

He sighed before turning to face me and the worry was clearly etched across his handsome face. "James offering that much cash for everything has me suspicious of him. That's all. Just please do me a favor and be careful around him. I don't trust him."

I nodded in agreement because the man honestly gave me the hevie jevies. "I understand your concerns and he makes me feel a little uncomfortable too when we are talking. Maybe we can do a background check of some sort to see if he's who he says he is?" I asked as I sat my cup down on the nightstand and tossed the covers back off of me so I could climb out of bed.

Edward shrugged his shoulders as he stood up and headed to the closet to get dressed for the day. "I don't know. I can call my old college buddy that is a cop in Seattle now and see if he can run a check for me." He told me from the closet.

"Sounds good, Romeo." I told him as I joined him in the closet to get dressed for the day.

As we mounted our horses in the barn a thought popped into my head. "I wander if Jasper and Alice found out anything yesterday at the doctor." I told him because I was honestly curious if they were having boys or girls but so far they had been tight lipped saying the doctor couldn't get a good read on baby B.

"I don't know, wife, I think it will be pretty cool if they have all girls. It will serve Jasper right." He said as we exited the barn headed for the fields to check the hay and water tanks.

I shrugged. "I think Jasper needs a little help in the testosterone department so I hope they have two boys." I told him as I followed him out of the barn. "I guess we will find out at dinner tonight.

Later that afternoon, we were all sitting around the living room playing CandyLand with Kylie, Brooklyn, and Alyssa while Esme cooked dinner for everybody. 'Buddha' Alice, Rosalie, and I were sitting on the floor in front of the couches while the girls laid on their stomachs while the guys sat behind us women on the couches. Carlisle sat in the new double recliner Edward and I had bought with his head stuck in a movie that was playing with Rylie spread out sound asleep across his chest. "Mama, what dis' color?" Kylie asked Rosalie showing her the card she drew.

Rosalie smiled at her. "What color does it look like?"

Kylie turned the card back to her and her eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. "Gween." She said softly. She was right.

Rosalie nodded and high fived her. "Good job, baby girl." Rosalie told her and helped her count the spaces to the next green spot on the board.

"Mama?" I mouthed at her silently.

She smiled and nodded. "It started earlier this week, she asked and we told her to call me whatever she felt like calling me. Kylie?" She called to get her attention.

Kylie flashed her big blue eyes at Rosalie before cocking her head to the side waiting for the question to be asked. "Why do you want to call me 'mama' instead of Rosie? Tell Aunt B." Rosalie prompted her.

Kylie sighed in mild irritation. "She wubs me an sissy an we wub her too. Simple." She said with a nod of her head before going back to the board game.

I giggled and nodded my head. "Seems like a good reason to me."

Edward rubbed my shoulders gently encouraging me to broach the subject we had talked about earlier this morning but I was being chicken and didn't want to. James.

I finally took a deep breath before just blurting it out. "James wants to buys all of our cattle ranching equipment that he needs as well as the cattle he wants." I told them easing my way into the conversation that had made my husband so uneasy this morning and last night.

Edward sighed behind me in slight irritation at the way I hadn't really said the most important part. I just skirted around the main issue here. "James caught Bella down by the mail box the other day and offered her cash for everything he needs come spring. I don't know how to feel about that. That's a lot of cash to come up with. My buddy up in Seattle is doing a background check on him but it's gonna take a little to get the results back."

I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been the reason for this whole conversation. "What do you guys think? Suspicious or not?" I asked them looking around at all the faces.

Jasper leaned forward and put his hands on Alice's shoulders as he looked at me. "That's a lot of cash, Bella and most banks won't own a new ranch owner that type of loan on top of a mortgage loan. I think it warrants looking into a little bit." Jasper said while Carlisle nodded in agreement.

I nodded in understanding also. "I know this Jasper, I just want this done so we can all really move on with our lives." I told him truthfully.

He nodded. "I agree and you know I love you and trust your judgment but it all sounds a little fishy to me. We all have a lot at stake here." He said nodding at his young daughters and very pregnant wife.

I nodded in understanding. "Pa, what do you think?" I asked him quietly as I gazed at him expectantly.

He rubbed his chin as a grin slowly appeared on his face. "I want it to be true more than anybody but not at the risk of it all backfiring on us. I say let Edward's friend check this James guy out before proceeding. I want to be able to take my wife on an actual vacation without having to worry about being fired." He said fiercely.

I nodded. "I know, Pa, and you can take her whether this deal with James goes through or not because come spring we're out of the cattle business for good and you can begin your full retirement." I told him hoping to make his day better. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect to me." He said quickly as he rubbed his hands together before standing. "Let me go tell my wife the good news." He said as he sauntered into the kitchen.

I groaned and hung my head as did Jasper, Emmett, and Edward while Alice and Rosalie looked at us with odd expressions. "What's wrong with you guys?" Alice asked as she rubbed her stomach gently.

"Whatever you do, do NOT go in the kitchen for the next twenty minutes or so." Emmett told them as kissed the top of Rose's head gently.

Suddenly we heard Esme squeal loudly before giggling uncontrollably. Rose and Alice still looked confused so I decided to just be blunt. "They're getting it on on top of the kitchen table. Why do you think nobody eats there without a table cloth on the table?" I told them bluntly.

Realization dawned on them as what I had said and the sounds coming from the kitchen confirmed it. We quickly got the girl back into the game of CandyLand while Emmett stood to check on Rylie who had been suffering from an ear infection as of the past few days. Carlisle had laid her down in the chair when he got up.

"So changing the subject. Do you guys have any special plans for Valentines' day tomorrow?" Jasper asked as he loving leaned over Alice to stroke her stomach gently causing her to smile peacefully.

I shrugged my shoulders and moved my little man on the board while Edward kissed the top of my head before leaning back on the couch. "Nothing much I suppose since my wife doesn't much care for the most romantic day of the year." He reminded Jasper with envy in his voice.

I nodded and smiled at him. "It will be okay, Romeo. I promise. Plus, you know how I feel about Valentine's Day anyways. It's just-" He cut me off as he finished his sentence.

"another day for Hallmark and the chocolate factories to make a shit load of money. I know. I still remember our first Valentine's together." He said quietly as he kissed me on the forehead before leaning back against the couch again.

**Flashback**

"Edward Anthony, what have you done?" I whispered from my perch on his back. His grandparents had gone to California for the week to a horse convention and had left Edward at home alone and he apparently has taken advantage of that fact.

"I wanted to make our first Valentine's Day together as a couple special, baby." He said as he helped me hop off his back once we were inside his front door. I scowled at all the rose pedals that created a path through the room and down the hallway.

I put my hands on my hips. "You know this is exactly why Valentine's day was created, don't you?" I asked him slightly irritated. I hated commercially created holidays that were created merely to make companies who already had plenty of money even more money off of poor idiots like Edward.

He shrugged. "I figured it was romantic and sweet." He said as he tugged me in front of him and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I sighed. "It's a waste of money. I would have much rather just hung out on the couch watching TV or making dinner together, or making love without interruptions while we are alone. All of this" I waved my hands at the rose petals, "is a waste of your hard earned money and unnecessary." I told him firmly. "All I need and want is you, Romeo." I told him before jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. "Understand?" I whispered against his lips.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am." He said with a smirk.

I smiled at him. "Good, now take me to bed and you can clean all of this up after you make love to me without interruptions." I told him firmly before tugging his mouth to mine with very little force.

**End of Flashback**

The rest of the evening went smoothly as we all ate dinner while catching up on things that everybody thought was important. Just as Esme and I got up to get dessert and dessert plates Jasper and Alice stood up and cleared their throats. "We have an announcement to make." Jasper said firmly as Alice reached over and squeezed his hand tightly for support.

I sighed in irritation. "It's about damned time. I'm tired of wandering what colors to buy." I interrupted them irritably. They all looked at me kind of funny because I wasn't usually one for shopping but these were my nieces or nephews so I was kind of excited to go shopping for a change.

We all turned our attention back to Jasper and Alice as Esme and I sat back down. "We got some news today at the doctors' appointment." Jasper said as he looked at Alice with a smile on his face.

My face along with everyone else's fell at that sentence. "Are the babies okay? Alice, are you okay?" I asked them guiltily.

They both nodded. "We are all three fine. It's just we're having two boys instead of girls like I had originally thought and planned for." Alice said cheerfully as she rubbed over her ever expanding stomach. By the time she reached nine months she was going to be a sight to see. Currently she was only a little over five months pregnant and looked like she was at least eight.

The entire table erupted in cheers and congratulations to the happy beaming couple.

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**I got a nice new piece of jewelry for Christmas that makes me happy and excited every time I look at my hand but your reviews would make me even happier! Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay so apparently very few of you guys read the two chapters over the weekend or just didn't enjoy them enough to post a review. That is okay though because here is the next chapter anyways! Enjoy.**

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Chapter 19 (2114)

After the exciting dinner was over and everybody had retreated back to their own homes, Edward and I lay sprawled out on our huge leather couch watching the fire crackle in front of us and the TV drone on in the background. He had my feet in his hands and was massaging the balls of my feet up to my calves and back as I lay a puddle of goo between his feet. "Babe?" I asked him quietly because he looked so deep in thought about something and I had a pretty good idea what it was about.

He shook his head before looking at me with a small smile on his face. "Yeah? Sorry I spaced out there for a minute." He said quietly.

I nodded with a small smile of my own. "What are you thinking about?" I asked him to get him to open up and talk to me.

He smiled at me and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong, baby. Everything is absolutely perfect as long as I'm with you." He said sweetly.

Normally I would have taken his sweet words and ran with them but it wasn't happening this time. Something was wrong with my husband and I intended to find out exactly what it was. "Want to try again?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow in his direction.

He sighed and hung his head. "Yeah." He conceded quietly.

I remained quiet because I knew he was probably gathering his thoughts and figuring out a way to put it all into understandable sentences. He took a deep breath before speaking quietly but the pain was obvious in his voice. "I know we were young but why did our baby have to die?" He asked quietly. "We could have raised him together over at my house. We could have gotten away from Charlie." He spilled rapidly.

I felt the tears welling behind my eyes and blinked my eyes to shoo them away but it was pointless as they spilled down my cheeks. I quickly scrambled into Edward's waiting arms and snuggled into his chest. "He would have been an amazing child, I'm sure, but apparently the timing wasn't right. We can always try for another one." I suggested quietly.

He nodded and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "I think we would make pretty amazing parents, don't you?"

I nodded but I was skeptical at best.

He sensed my skepticism because he pulled back to look at me. "Why do you doubt that you will be a good mother?" He asked as he stroked my cheeks gently taking away my tear tracks.

I shrugged my shoulders. "My mother died giving birth to me. What if that happens to me?"

He pulled me back to his chest. "Isabella Masen, you will be an amazing mother and you will be around to see our children brought into this world and soar through it." He told me firmly. "I won't have it any other way." How he had effectively turned this conversation around to be about me I had no idea but he had always managed to do this. But. This time it wasn't going to work.

I nodded and pulled myself from his arms to face him again. "Enough about my fears, Mr. Masen. Do you think that me miscarrying our son all those years ago is your fault somehow?" I asked him as I framed his face in my hands so he could see the sincerity in my eyes.

He shook his head. "Absolutely not, Mrs. Masen, that was one hundred percent Charlie's fault. Nobody else's. I just wander from time to time what he would look like, what he would act like, what his personality would have been like. It's just hard sometimes but I know that it happened for a reason. God would not take our baby just to be mean, he had a reason."

I nodded. "Absolutely and I wander what he would be like too sometimes." I admitted honestly. "Most of the time I try not to think about it but it's kind of hard with all the baby news going on around here lately."

He nodded and held open his arms again. "Have you ever told anybody about him?"

I shook my head as I laid it against his chest. "No, not even Jasper, Ma, or Pa. You?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I told my grandparents right before they died and Emmett knows but I swore him to secrecy years ago. I had to have someone to vent to when I was away at college and he was it."

I nodded knowing that we could trust Emmett with something like this. "I understand, babe, I do. Gypsy and Buckshot know everything too." I told him giggling breaking the seriousness of the conversation.

He laughed and tugged me firmly into him. "I love you, silly girl."

"I love you too, Romeo."

That night we began our long journey of making babies.

I gasped when I felt arms wrap around my waist as I stood in front of the refrigerator looking for something to eat. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mrs. Masen." Edward whispered as he stepped up closer to me until he was flush against my back.

I groaned when I realized that he hadn't bothered to get dressed before coming to find me. I had slipped on the sexy hot pink half tank top that ended about three inches below my breasts and had tiny straps that lay gently on my shoulders. The top was paired with a pair of hot pink lacy cheeky boy shorts that didn't leave a whole lot to imagination. I felt sexy and desirable wearing it and apparently by the hardened erection pressing against my butt cheeks so did Edward.

This was the first time I had ventured out of our bedroom wearing lingerie but everybody was learning to respect that we were married and this was our house now so they didn't usually come knocking too earlier and they had learned quickly to knock and wait for us to answer them before just barging in. I am glad that I chose to throw this on when I had climbed from the bed a few minutes ago when my growling stomach couldn't be denied any longer. It seems like that hunger is being put on the back burner again as a new hunger has taken over completely. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Masen." I told him huskily as I pressed my butt into his impressive erection. "How about we take care of that little problem you have there, husband." I told him as I quickly turned around and sank to the floor.

He had made last night all about me now it was time for a little payback. "Isabella…" He groaned as I stuck my tongue out and licked the leaking juices from his tip.

I smiled and placed a kiss on his tip as I wrapped my hand around his aching erection. "Yes, Romeo?" I teased as I ran my hand up and down slowly.

"Don't tease, baby. Please." He groaned out as his fingers sunk into my sleep tousled hair.

I just giggled because I had said those same exact words last night if I'm not mistaken. "I believe I said the same thing, babe, and what did you tell me?" I asked him as I placed kisses up and down his shaft causing him to groan aloud and clench his fingers in my hair.

"It's not teasing if you plan to finish it." He ground out in pretend agony.

I placed my mouth around his shaft and quickly slid my mouth down as far as I could causing him to slide into the back of my throat. "Exactly." I told him as I removed my mouth and looked up at him with hooded eyes.

He chuckled darkly as he quickly reached down and tugged me up. "Enough, Isabella. Point proven." He told me as he plopped me on the kitchen island and quickly stepped between my legs bringing our achy parts flush together.

I nodded and it was my turn to wind my hands in his hair as he tugged my panties off and tossed them aside. "God, I love you so damn much." I told him as I tugged his lips to mine for a fiery passionate kiss.

We both gasped as he slid firmly into his rightful home. Our pace was brutal but loving at the same time as we broke in the kitchen the right way. Apparently the kitchen table was Carlisle and Esme's place but the island was all ours.

Later that evening we were sitting on the rug on the floor in front of the fireplace eating the chicken spaghetti we had fixed together when the present thing came back up. I still didn't have Edward anything but I knew he wouldn't be too disappointed as he knew my thoughts on the holiday. "Here, sweetheart." Edward said as he pulled a small wrapped box from beneath the couch.

I smirked. "How long has that been under the couch?" I asked him as I fiddled with the small ribbon on top of the small square box. I didn't think it was jewelry because the box was too big but he could have done that just to throw me off the scent of jewelry.

He smiled and shook his head. "Just since night before last, I didn't dare put it under there sooner. It has been hidden in the horse barn for the past two weeks." He told me as he nodded at the box once again.

I smiled and pulled the little ribbon loose so that I could open the box and see what was inside. I gasped as I lifted the lid off the box and saw what was inside. It was a beautiful wooden box with the word 'wish' carved into the upper right hand corner with a snowflake on the left hand side. "It's beautiful, Romeo, and absolutely perfect." I whispered to him as I ran my fingers across the smooth top of the box.

He nodded. "There's more inside, Isabella." He told me gruffly.

I smiled running my fingers across the box once again before opening the lid on it gasping yet again as I saw a beautiful black and white photograph of us from our honeymoon sitting on top. "Who took this?" I asked him lifting out the photo taking a closer look. We had been on a private beach and had spent out entire honeymoon alone beside the housekeepers who delivered our food when they come to check on us once a week.

He laughed lightly. "Carmen took it on the third week of our honeymoon. She emailed me this picture a few weeks ago and I wanted to share it with you. You can see the love shining in both of our faces." He explained and I had to agree. We were lying on the beach with our faces only centimeters apart facing the opposite directions. Edward is leaning over me and my hands are in his hair and his are cupping my shoulders bringing us closer together. I sat that picture aside turning back to the other contents of the box.

I sighed when I spied a beautiful silver necklace with a gorgeous heart pendent hanging from the ends of each end of the chain. "Edward…" I trailed off because there really were no words in the world to describe the love that was pouring out of me right now at the moment.

He nodded and reached in the box and pulled out the last item chuckling as he did so. "Your pesky little pregnant pixie of a sister snapped this one apparently when we were caught up in the moment in the barn one day." He said as he swapped gifts with me. He scooted around behind me and swept my hair aside as he slipped the necklace on fastening it as I admired another photo of us in a special kind of moment.

I picked up the other picture and sat it along with the one I had in my hand back in the beautiful wooden box before shutting the lid and setting it aside. I quickly straddled Edward's lap and latched my lips to his in a passionate kiss to express my gratitude for the beautiful amazing gifts. "I didn't get you anything…" I told him when we took a quick breather.

"You loving me is all I will ever need." He told me before sealing his lips back with mine. That is how we spent our evening…making love in front

of the fireplace.

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	20. Chapter 20

**Don't forget pictures associated with the chapters can be found by following the link found on my profile page. So I have finished this story and will now be posting a chapter every other day just to get it out there to my loyal readers and followers. Just because I am posting more often doesn't mean the reviews need to stop they still motivate me to keep writing on my other story that I just started yesterday. **

Chapter 20

The following two weeks were a bit hectic as Rose, Esme, and I had been planning a huge baby shower for both Jasper and Alice and all four kids. True, the girls didn't really need anything since Sherry had been a sweetheart and boxed up all of their belongings except for furniture and shipped it to Jasper and we had shopped for them before they got here. Sherry was planning to come for a visit when Alice had the babies so she could help out with the girls while Jasper and Alice got accumulated to having four small children in their house. We were all excited for her to get here so we could meet the lady that we all now had two sweetheart's in the family. The girls had cried for Sherry a lot when they first got here but that was becoming less and less frequent now as they were really starting to settle in and feel at home. They were excited to be having two baby brothers come summer time. We were all excited for the prospect of more babies added to the family. Edward and I were really anxious for them to get here so that the pressure would be off of us to come up pregnant. We weren't not trying but we weren't monitoring things and really trying either but either way we still weren't pregnant but we were okay with that for the time being.

"Isabella!" Edward called from the front door excitedly causing Rose, Esme, and Alice to giggle out loud.

He had been away on a business trip for the past three days doing a training seminar over in Oregon since we didn't have an operational training facility yet. That is something we planned to take care of once we sold everything to do with cattle farming. But for the time being his training services were being aired on our new website thanks to a restless Alice and he was traveling when his services were requested. This was the first of several business trips planned.

"In here, Romeo!" I called back to him as us ladies were sitting around the table making decisions on the baby shower for the Whitlock's.

Rose laughed as we heard Edward bang into stuff as he stripped off his winter attire. "Think he's anxious to see you?" She snickered as she flipped through another magazine for idea's on games for the baby shower.

I nodded. "This is the first time we've been apart since before we got married." I told her needlessly.

Esme snickered as she stacked her magazines and notebooks up. "We will take that as our cue to leave you two lovebirds alone." She said as she started to stand.

I shook my head. "It's okay, he knew we were doing this today, Ma. You don't have to rush out." I told her stopping her by placing a hand on top of hers.

She nodded and headed to the kitchen instead as Edward practically ran into the living room. "Where are Jazz and Pa?" He asked as he placed a gentle kiss on top of my head.

I laughed. "I see how your priorities are, Romeo." I snickered as Rose and Esme rolled their eyes.

He shook his head. "I heard back from Same Uley last night regarding James's background check. I figured I would just share it to everybody at once." He said in way of apology.

I nodded in understanding. "They are out at the barn getting White Chocolate used to the saddle and tack gear." I told him as I pulled out my cell phone and quickly dialed Jasper's number. "Rose, will you call Alice please." I told her as I listened to Jasper's phone ring.

She nodded and pulled out her cell phone. Within minutes of Edward's arrival our kitchen was full of everybody and Edward had taken the hot seat. He chose to hop up on the island and pull me between his legs so we could be close but he could still face everybody in the room. "So I heard back from my detective friend and I'm afraid it's not good." He said as he tugged me closer still.

Everybody nodded but remained silent to allow Edward to tell us what he knew. "Sam called last week and said that the names James and Victoria Lawson weren't showing up anywhere in any databases so he asked for a picture of them to run facial recognition."

"You never said anything about this to me." I told him as I tipped my head back to look at him.

He nodded. "I know, I didn't want any of you to worry needlessly. I caught them up town last Wednesday when Jasper and I ran to the parts store and snapped a picture of them." He went on to explain.

I nodded and just dropped it because it really wasn't that big of a deal. "So did your friend come up with anything?" Jasper asked impatiently as he held Brooklyn in his lap.

Edward nodded as he cocked one hip forward to tug something out of his back pocket. That SOMETHING was a set mug shots of who we all knew as James and Victoria Lawson. I gasped when I saw them. It was apparent that James had had plastic surgery on his nose and chin as had Victoria but it was obviously them. Victoria's hair gave her away and the look in James's eyes gave him away.

I took a deep breath and asked the dreaded question we had all avoided up until now. "What are they wanted for, Edward?"

He sighed and hung his head. "They were involved in a bank robbery gone back a little over a year ago in Miami." He said looking directly at Rose.

She gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.

Carlisle wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked her calmly.

She took a deep breath. "That wasn't just a bank robbery gone bad, that was a blood bath. The robbers killed every single person in that bank. Nobody got out alive but them. It was all over the news down there." She informed us as calm as she could. "My best friend and her six month old daughter was in that bank. Neither of them made it out alive." She said as she broke down and began sobbing quietly.

I gasped because I don't think any of us had any idea that she had lost someone so brutally. Alice beat me to the punch on apologizing and consoling. "Rose, we're so sorry for your loss. We are here if you need us." She offered and every single person in the room nodded.

"Edward, what does your buddy suggest we do?" Emmett asked as he took over consoling his girlfriend and upset daughters who didn't like seeing their mother upset.

Edward shook his head. "Absolutely nothing. This is a federal case and the FBI agents are moving in tonight to make the arrests. This is going to be nothing but a nightmare gone wrong by tomorrow. Only one bad thing about all of this, now we don't have a buyer for the cattle and equipment." He said firmly.

We all breathed a sigh of relief then groaned as the realization that we were still stuck with the damned cows hit us. "Actually…." Alice piped up with a smile on her face.

I groaned. "What have you done Mary Alice?" I asked her because by the look on her face she had a wild card up her sleeve.

She had the audacity to giggle. "I posted on the website that you guys were looking to sell everything cattle farming related along with renting out Edward's old house and I got a hit on both of them. By the same person." She informed us with a shit eating grin plastered all over her face. "Anybody know the name George Strait?"

I gasped, Edward hung his head, Carlisle and Esme just looked confuse, while Rosalie and Jasper looked dazed at the implications of this possibility. "Alice don't joke." Edward growled at her.

She giggled again before getting up and bringing her computer to the island and pulling up our website and the correspondences with 'George'. "It's not a joke, and I haven't actually been talking to George himself but his wife, Norma. They are looking for a small town outside of Texas to retire to and have been searching for a few months now and because of the promoting of the website I have been doing, they found our site and information. They both are supposed to be on Skype in about ten minutes or so to confirm a viewing of the house, land, cattle, equipment, and etcetera." Alice said as she logged into her Skype account to await the call.

We all just stood gaping at her as her computer dinged and she squealed in delight before connecting the call through. "Alice?" came a southern voice that we all recognized as the king of country himself.

Alice stepped in front of the computer and smiled. "Yes sir, I'm here as is the rest of my family. How are you tonight?" She answered politely.

He laughed lightly as the computer screen panned a room that looked to be a library until he and a beautiful woman, whom we all assumed was his wife, came into view. "We are doing lovely. Retirement is a little boring but I am excited to come and see the place up there. Care to introduce us to the entire family, Alice?" He asked as he sat back and tugged his wife down into his lap. They looked cozy and in love like each of the couples sitting around our kitchen together.

Alice giggled and nodded. "Certainly. That handsome devil back here with the curly blonde hair is my husband, Jasper, he is holding our daughters Brooklyn and Alyssa. The big oaf back there with the tiny thing perched on his shoulder is our friend Emmett and his baby girl Rylie. The blonde knock out beside him holding the other little angel is his girlfriend and one of my sisters Rosalie and their other little girl Kylie. The other gorgeous couple back there is the world's greatest surrogate mother and father, Carlisle and Esme." She said as she introduced everybody and they waved as they were introduced.

Since Edward and I were beside the computer we were last to be introduced. Alice picked up the laptop and took a few steps back before introducing us. "This is my other sister, Bella and her husband Edward. He is the one leasing out his house and land." She said before turning the computer back to face her. "So that's everybody." She said as she turned the computer back around to face her.

George nodded as Norma leaned forward a little bit. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you and I appreciate the opportunity to come up and view the place. He" she said pointing a finger at her husband "is driving me crazy because he is so bored. Cattle ranching has been bred in him since childhood so this should be perfect for him. For us." Norma said excitedly.

"Is next weekend a good weekend to come up and take a look around?" George asked us.

I looked at Edward for confirmation because he would need to be around to show his grandparents' house to the couple. He smiled and answered for the both of us. "Absolutely. You can just come here to our ranch when you get into town and we can saddle up and ride around the property and then the house."

"Okay, sounds good Edward. We look forward to taking a look around. See you guys next weekend." He said before another chime sounded from Alice's computer announcing the call had been disconnected.

Alice sighed as she closed the lid on her computer and sunk down into her chair. "George Strait ladies and gentlemen." She said with a giggle.

We all laughed as the reality that we may have a major superstar living just over the hill pretty soon. We spent a few hours that evening going over approximately how many cows we had, female/male/calf percentages, equipment we were keeping, equipment we were selling, supplies we were keeping, supplies we were selling, and coming up with a reasonable price to present whenever George and Norma came visiting in a few weeks.


	21. Chapter 21

**Don't forget pictures associated with the chapters can be found by following the link found on my profile page.**

Chapter 21 (2507)

Hearing both the good news and the bad news from both Edward and Alice has caused me to not be able to sleep that night. This is why I was currently lying in bed running my fingers through Edward's copperish strands as he snored gently beside me. I knew from Edward's information that the raid was taking someplace tonight but would most likely try to be done quietly because of their baby that was just a little over one month old but it was still nerve wracking to know that we had such dangerous people living so close to our entire family. Then Alice's mind blowing news that country superstar, the king of country, wanted to come look at our equipment and stock as well as Edward's grandparent's house.

"Baby, what's wrong? Why aren't you asleep?" Edward asked as he blinked open his sleepy eyes and reached to pull me against him all at the same time.

I sighed. "I'm just anxious for this night to be over with already. I'm worried about what will happen to the baby. That little girl doesn't deserve to have parents like that. She's so precious Edward, too precious to suffer like this." I told him quietly as I snuggled into his side.

"I know baby, sometimes life just isn't fair but there is nothing we can do about it. Hopefully she will find a nice home to be raised in." He told me quietly.

A wicked thought popped into my head but I kind of leery to speak it out loud for Edward may think me crazy when he hears it. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face as the thought took root and blossomed in my brain.

Edward groaned. "This idea you suddenly have is going to cost me a shit load of money isn't it?"

I shook my head because we already had almost everything we needed to make it possible. "I don't think so."

He sighed and pushed us in bed until we were situated against the headboard and he flipped on his lamp. "Just spill it so I can call you crazy and then give into you already so we can get some sleep."

I giggled and turned to face him. "I don't think we will be going back to sleep tonight, Romeo." I hinted.

He cocked an eyebrow at me but otherwise remained silent waiting on me to get my idea out there. I took a deep breath and just spilled it all out really quickly. "Whydon'twetaketheirbaby." I spewed before ducking my head so he couldn't see my face.

He cleared his throat. "Come again."

I raised my head and prepared myself for his reaction. "Why don't we adopt their baby, Edward? We have the space, the money, the ability-" I rambled trying to come up with feasible reasons of why we could do it but Edward stopped me by placing his lips against mine.

I sighed against his lips because I knew he was in agreement. "You are crazy, woman but let's do it." He said between kisses shocking the hell out of me.

I pulled back to make sure he was serious. "Really?" I asked him as I felt myself getting giddy inside at the possibility.

He nodded and reached over to the side table and snatched his cell phone. "Sam is supposed to be here tonight to take part in the raid. Let me give him a call and see if it's possible that we foster her until we can see if the adoption is feasible." He explained when I looked at him like he was crazy.

I nodded and snuggled into his side while he made his phone call. "Sam, this is Edward Masen." I settled in to listen to the one sided conversation.

"How did the raid go?"

"That's great, Sam, really great. I'm glad nobody got hurt. How is the baby?"

"I understand. Really? Why would she request to speak to us?" He piqued my interest when he said that.

"Yeah, we can be there in about twenty minutes or so." I tried to scramble from the bed to get dressed but Edward held me tight so I couldn't.

"Sure thing Sam, we will see you soon." Edward said before pulling the phone away from his ear. I didn't even wait until he had the phone placed down before pouncing.

"What did he say? How's the baby? Who wants to speak to us?" I fired rapidly.

Edward laughed and tugged me from the bed swinging me around in jubilation before answering any of my questions. "Edward Anthony Masen!" I laughed as I held on tightly.

"Isabella Marie Masen if you want that damned baby you best get dressed so I can get us to the jail house to sign the damned adoption papers!" He told me as he sat my feet back on the floor..

"How are we getting her so easy?" I asked Edward as I tugged my leggings up my legs and my sweater over my head.

Edward laughed as he buttoned his jeans shrugging into his t-shirt and flannel shirt over it. "Victoria actually requested us when they got to the police station. She wants to sign custody over to us so that her daughter can have a good life, according to Sam." He explained as he stomped into his boots.

I nodded as I quickly ran a brush through my hair before tugging on my own boots. This is the best it got at two o'clock in the morning.

Twenty five minutes after making that phone call we were walking into the police station to absolute chaos. Victoria was screaming and kicking against three police officer's holds as the baby screamed her head off in another officer's arms across the room while James was pounding against the glass of the inner office and screaming profanities at everybody. I quickly shed my coat and headed straight for the officer who held the screaming crying baby. "Give me that baby." I demanded as I snatched the crying baby from the officer's arms without giving him a chance to say 'no'.

I tuned out everybody and everything else as I rocked the baby and talked soothingly to her to no avail. After a few minutes I stuck my hand beneath the blanket and into her pants to check her diaper and found the reason for her fit throwing. Hearing Victoria still screaming at the officer's in the background I turned around and faced her as I dug around in the diaper bag. "Victoria you have got to quit screaming. You are upsetting the baby. Please." I begged her as I laid a blanket out on a desk and began changing her diaper.

Victoria calmed down and so did her daughter once I got her butt changed and a bottle popped in her mouth. I heard Victoria spit at one of the officer's and then I heard the officer groan in pain. "Dammit woman, I want to have more kids in the future. That shit hurt." He seethed at her. She had apparently kicked him in the balls for keeping her away from her daughter.

Once I had the baby calmed down I looked around and spotted Edward standing in a corner talking to a tall dark headed plain dressed officer whom I assumed was his friend Sam. I walked over to them with the baby propped in one elbow sucking greedily on the little bottle I had fixed her. "Edward…" I said but trailed off not wanting to sound rude or ungrateful.

Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tugged me into his arms. "Sam this is my beautiful wife, Bella. Bella this is Sam Uley a good buddy of mine and Emmett's from college." Edward introduced us.

I nodded but didn't shake his hand because I was feeding the baby. "It's a pleasure to meet you Sam even though I wished it had been under different circumstances." I told him honestly as I turned my head into Edward's shoulder to hide my yawn that was escaping despite my efforts. This was a heulluva time for my body to remember it hadn't been to sleep yet.

Sam laughed. "It's always a joyous occasion when a good friend of mine becomes a father for the first time." Sam said as he clapped Edward on the shoulder.

Edward smiled affectionately at me and the baby in my arms. "Let's get on with this so I can get these girls home." Edward said prodding the situation along nicely.

Sam nodded and led the way into the inner office where Victoria was handcuffed to a chair while James had been removed to a cell away from her. "Victoria." I nodded because even though that wasn't her real name it was the only name I had ever known her by.

She smiled and nodded as she gazed at her sleeping daughter that I was attempting to burp on my shoulder. "Bella. If you lay her across your arm and pat her back she burps a lot easier." She said quietly.

I nodded and did just that and low and behold a loud man burp sounded from the tiny infant causing us all to chuckle. Even Victoria chuckled. "She has no scruples." She said before taking a deep breath and hedging forward. "But I know you guys will instill them in her despite of where and who she came from."

I nodded and leaned into Edward's side. "We will, you have my word on that. Are you sure about this?" I asked quietly.

She nodded. "We are both going away for life without parole. I'm certain of it and I don't want my mother or father to have anything to do with her and James was an orphan until he aged out of the system. She's better off not even knowing about any of us. I've already signed the papers and so has James. Not like he ever cared about her to begin with." She said fiercely.

I nodded but otherwise remained silent as she continued on. "Her birth name is Mia Leane but you are more than welcome to change it if you want. She will be your daughter from now on." She said with tears in her eyes. "If the police and feds don't mind you can have everything out of her room in the house. I will understand completely if you don't want any of it but it's yours if you need it just temporarily or decide to keep it permanently." She said looking at Sam for confirmation or denial of allowing us in the house.

He waved his hands. "I don't see a problem with it after CSU gets finished processing it to make sure none of the stolen money is stashed in it." He said with a nod at Victoria.

"I just wanted her to have a fresh start without all of the violence following her throughout her life. I want this adoption final and hid. I don't want her to ever know about me or James or what we chose to do in our lifetime. I will always regret what happened in Miami because it can come back to haunt her but I can't take it back now. Becoming a mother changed all of that for me. Before she came along I had no regrets and now I regret everything." She said hanging her head and I spied a few tears spilling from her eyes.

"Do you want pictures of her as she grows up? I can send them without her ever knowing about either of you." I asked her quietly causing Edward to jerk his gaze to me and Victoria to rear her head up in astonishment.

She slowly nodded as a small smile crept across her face. "I knew I was making the right decision by requesting you to take her, Bella. Yes I would love whatever you are willing to share. Please take care of her and be a good mother to her. That's all I ask." She said before nodding at Sam who took over the room.

"Okay. Bella, Edward, all you guys need to do is sign on the dotted lines and take that precious angel home with you." He said showing us where to sign and we did.

He flipped through the pages one last time before nodding at Victoria who openly began crying now. "I really do love her and regret everything I ever did that put her in any kind of danger. She was my saving grace."

I nodded and felt tears begin to prick my own eyes. I walked over to her and let her kiss the baby on top of the head to say one final goodbye. "You can kiss her and tell her bye, Victoria. I will send pictures of her often. I promise." I told her as I leaned the baby down to her reach.

She gently kissed Mia on top of the head. "I love you, sweet girl. You be good for your momma and daddy now." She said as she jerked her head away and began sobbing.

I took a deep breath, stood up straight, and walked out of the room with my husband and our new daughter. We stopped a few feet out of the office doorway to take a breath and make sure nothing else was needed of us for tonight anyways. "Sam?" Edward asked as I bent down to fasten baby Mia into her car seat.

I tuned them out as I concentrated on fastening baby Mia into her car seat and making sure she was covered good enough because it was early march and still very cold outside especially at night time. I was startled by a warm hand on my lower back as I folded the little flap down to completely hide the baby from the cold weather outside. It had taken me a minute to figure out what the leopard print and pink thing was but I finally realized it was a car seat cover to keep Mia snug and warm while we were outside. It had a little flap over where her head would be so we could have easy access to her.

"We're good to go. Sam said Judge Conners has already approved the adoption considering the circumstances so she is all ours. I have the base to the car seat so we are allowed to take her home now, momma. If we want to make any name changes or anything we would just have to submit the paperwork to the Judge Conners and she will sign off on it." Edward told me softly. I smiled at hearing him call me momma because it was true I was now a momma to a very tiny human being. I had been a mother since I was sixteen but now I had something tangible to hold onto and cuddle to make me feel more like a mother instead of just a bad memory.

I nodded and stood up slipping the diaper bag over my shoulder while Edward grabbed the car seat. "Let's go, daddy, our girl needs some sleep in our bed." I told him as I wrapped my hand around his arm as we walked out of the police station as a complete family.


	22. Chapter 22

**Don't forget picture link can be found on my profile page.**

Chapter 22 (2174)

"Do you want to go look at some of the stuff in Victoria and James's house to see if you want to keep stuff for Mia?" Edward asked as he eased his truck down the icy highway heading us home.

I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Victoria doesn't want Mia to know anything about them and that stuff would only bring them into our house because they picked it out and not us." I told him honestly as I glanced in the backseat at the car seat that held our beautiful baby girl.

"I agree. We can make a trip to Cheyenne in a few days to get her a new nursery set and whatever she will need. We can call Emmett and see if he has any of Riley's baby clothes until we go shopping." Edward suggested. "I don't want any part of anything to do with James and Victoria. What about Mia's name? We gonna change it or keep it the same?"

I shrugged in indifference because honestly I like the name Mia and it seemed to fit her perfectly. "I like the name Mia but it doesn't matter to me as long as her last name is Masen, which it is." I told him.

He nodded. "I think we should change her middle name. I was thinking changing her middle name to Isabel or Esme or maybe even Renee or something to honor the important women in our lives. What do you think?"

I smiled because he was going to be a great father if he was already considering giving her such an honorable name. "I like Isabel after your grandmother and mother. They would be proud I am certain." I told him as we pulled onto the road leading to our house at the end of it.

He nodded. "Sam gave me a copy of the adoption papers as well as a name change form just in case. I can go into town later today and turn the papers in because I am sure we are going to need diapers, wipes, formula, and all of the other essential stuff at some point today."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, there is only enough formula for a few more bottles and only about ten diapers in the diaper bag." I told him as he pulled to a stop in front of the house. I was shocked to see all the lights in our house on when I knew for a fact we had shut them all off on our rush out of the house earlier. "Edward?" I asked quietly as he turned the truck off taking a look around and seeing two extra vehicles besides my truck sitting in the driveway.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they saw or heard us leave and are worried." He suggested as he climbed out of the truck and opened the back door to get Mia's car seat out.

"Maybe." I said as I slid out of the truck grabbing the diaper bag and sliding it over my shoulder as Edward walked around the truck carrying Mia's car seat. "Let's do this." I told him holding my hand out grasping his tightly in my hand as we walked up the steps onto the porch.

I opened the door and we came face to face with our entire pajama clad family and Esme carrying a steaming tray of cups into the living room where everyone was gathered besides the kids. I assumed they were all asleep in the playroom. "Why is everybody here?" I asked as I shut the door behind us.

"Couldn't sleep, too worried about what was going on down the road." Rose said as she leaned against Emmett's side.

"Saw your headlights pull out a little while ago while Esme and I were sitting at the kitchen table drinking cocoa and biscuits. We were worried where you guys were going at three o'clock in the morning." Carlisle explained from our double recliner.

Alice smiled sleepily. "The girls had a nightmare and had us up so we saw your headlights leading down the driveway. So we called Ma and Pa before Rose and Emmett called us. We all agreed to just meet up here and wait on you guys to get back." She explained as she rubbed her stomach gently.

Esme walked up to us and pointed at the carrier in Edward's hands. "What do you have there, son?" She said as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

Edward smiled as he reached down and lifted the flap of off the cover of the car seat to reveal a sleeping angelic baby Mia Isabel Masen. "I would like to introduce everybody to the newest addition to our family, Mia Isabel Masen." Edward said as he pulled the cover completely off to reveal the beautiful baby within.

Esme clapped her hands over her mouth as she gazed lovingly at the little baby within the carrier. "I had a dream that something like this would happen to you but I never…" She trailed off as she ran a finger down Mia's nose.

"How did you end up with the Lawson's baby, Edward?" Jasper asked from the corner of our couch.

I sighed at the tone of Jasper's voice but Edward answered smoothly. "Apparently Victoria realized the potential in Bella and requested for us to come take Mia. She and James both signed the adoption papers at the jail house and Judge Conners signed off on it too. That is how we ended up with our daughter, we were chosen."

I nodded in agreement and bent down to unfasten her from her carrier as she started squirming and making her presence known to the entire room. "Hmmm… I didn't think they knew you guys that well." Jasper said snidely as a cry sounded over the baby monitor sitting in the middle of the coffee table. "That sounds like Alyssa." He said as he got up without another word and headed down the hall to the play room.

I scooped Mia into my arms handing her to Esme who took her to show her off to Carlisle. I turned and looked into the saddened face of Alice wondering what Jasper's problem was with us getting chosen to take baby Mia. "Alice?" I asked as she rubbed her hands over her stomach soothingly.

She shook her head. "I don't know what his problem is. He's been edgy all night because the girls are having constant nightmares over something tonight. This is probably the fifth or sixth time Alyssa herself has woken up tonight. Brooklyn has-" She was interrupted by another cry over the monitor. "-has been up just as much if not more." She said as she levered herself up off the couch to follow the path of her husbands' voice just as we heard Jasper's soothing voice over the baby monitor.

"Shhhh, sweet angel, daddy's here." He whispered to the whimpering cries of his daughters.

Everybody else cooed all over baby Mia and she was passed from person to person while Jasper and Alice were in the play room handling their babies. The baby monitor had cut off after a few words from Alice so we all assumed that she had turned it off. After about thirty minutes Emmett yawned loudly and stood up. "Well folks, baby Mia is beautiful and precious but I have two beautiful and precious packages in the play room that need to go back to their own beds." He said as he headed down the hall to the play room to collect his girls.

Rose was next to stand up. She came and gave Edward and I both a hug before stroking Mia's hair gently and following silently after Emmett. They each came out carrying a sleeping child in their arms covered by their favorite blankets. "Goodnight and congratulations." Rose said as they eased their way out the door and to their vehicle.

Edward and I both nodded as we opened and shut the door for them since they had their hands full before going to sit down on the couch to watch Esme and Carlisle coo and cuddle their newest grandchild. "Is she really yours?" Carlisle asked as he tugged off the headband that Victoria had apparently put there before going to the jailhouse.

Edward nodded as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders tugging me into his chest. "Yeah, Pa, she's really legally ours. I have a copy of the adoption papers out in my truck along with a name change request form that I am going later today to turn in." Edward explained rubbing a hand over his face and through his hair.

Esme smiled as she gazed at the beautiful baby in her arms. "Congratulations you two, I always knew you would make great parents. Any child in the world is lucky to have you two as parents, she will be blessed throughout her life because her biological parent's made at least one right decision in their time on earth." She said just as we heard noises behind us.

We all turned around and saw Alice tugging a reluctant Jasper back into the living room. She looked furious. Finally she had had enough and let go of his arm and stood facing him with her hands on her pregnant hips. "Jasper William Whitlock, you will tote your happy ass in that living room and apologize to our sister and congratulate her or you can sleep in the fucking barn tonight!" She said pointing one finger at us and another into his chest.

He nodded smartly before taking a deep breath and locking eyes with both Edward and I. "I'm sorry, guys, it's been a stressful few days. She really is a beautiful and lucky little girl." Jasper said while looking at his seething wife who shook her head gently before going back down the hall to the nursery mumbling under her breath the whole way.

"That's no excuse for the way you talked to us, Jasper. I understand you are under a lot of stress with picking out college classes, the girls, Alice, the babies, and everything involved in a new marriage but that is not excuse still. If you were going to be like this then you should have stayed your ass at home then." I told him before turning around and facing the crackling fire in the fireplace.

I heard Jasper's boots shuffle against the hard wood floor and took a deep breath to prepare myself for the onslaught of his famous puppy dog eyes that I knew were coming. "Sissy…" He said as he dropped down in front of the couch.

Edward put a hand out. "Jasper, if you can't say something nice then I am asking please wait until you can be sincere." He said shocking all of us.

Jasper nodded. "I promise Edward, it's sincere and honest. That's all I can promise though." He said before reaching out and putting his hands over mine. "Sissy, there is no excuse for my behavior and hateful words. You were stolen of the chance to be a mother years ago but now you have an opportunity to truly be one." He said softly shocking me that he knew because I knew Edward and I neither one had ever told him. He continued on quietly. "You can't hide anything from me, you never have been able to. You know that and so does Edward."

I sighed and opened my mouth to try to explain why we had hid it from everybody but he shook his head stopping me before I even uttered the first word. "It's okay, there is no need to explain. Your secret is safe with me. The only thing I can tell you is that the girls haven't been sleeping good here lately and have been having nightmares screaming out for Sherry at all hours of the night. Alice is getting increasingly restless and irritable as the boys are getting bigger. We got a shock the other day at the doctors' appointment because Alice's blood pressure was sky high. So she is having to be monitored closely to make sure both she and the babies can survive this pregnancy in great condition. It's a lot to have to deal with and on top of that picking classes, paying tuition, making sure the cattle stays alive until spring…" He trailed off as I ran a hand through his curly locks.

"I understand Jasper, but that is my daughter now and if you can't be nice and accepting of her then you are not going to be around her." I told him with a smile on my face. "Now, would you like to meet your newest niece?" I asked him quietly.

He smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. I bet she is going to grow up to torment Edward the way he tormented me over you." He said teasingly as he sat down in the love seat preparing to hold the tiny baby girl that changed everything for me and Edward.


	23. Chapter 23

**Don't forget picture link can be found on my profile page.**

Chapter 23 (2806)

After Jasper apologized and we had a private talk to deal with both of our issues since we both have had a lot of changes going on in our personal lives. Everybody cooed and fawned over the baby for a little bit before we pushed them out the door so we could get to bed. That is when I realized we didn't have anything for her to sleep in until we disassembled one of the cribs in the play room or bought her one when we went to Cheyenne. "Edward, where is she going to sleep?" I asked him as I fastened her sleeper back together after a rather smelly diaper change. I knew we had baby beds and baby monitors in the other room but to me that was too far away from us at least for the first night. We had had a heck of a hassle getting those baby beds in that room, they had to be completely disassembled before they would fit through the doorway so that was out of the question for at least tonight.

Edward shrugged as he handed me the warmed up bottle to feed the small whimpering sleepy human laying on the bed in front of me. "I don't know. Maybe she can sleep with us just for tonight?" He suggested as he leaned back against the headboard to watch me feed our newly acquired daughter.

I immediately shook my head. "Absolutely not. I am scared I will squish her or suffocate her during the night. We have to find-" We were interrupted by the doorbell going off over head.

Edward quickly scrambled off the bed before it startled Mia too much and got her to crying. "I'll get it." He said as he raced from the room to see who was at our front door at almost five in the morning when everybody had just left less than a half hour ago.

I heard voices coming from the living room that sounded distinctly like Edward and Emmett's voices before hearing the front door shut and latch back. "Emmett is a life saver. He brought over the basket that Rylie and Kylie slept in when they first came home from the hospital." Edward said as he walked in the room carrying a wicker basket that appeared to be full of soft looking baby blankets. "This will be perfect until we get to Cheyenne to pick her out something more permanent." He said as he sat the basket on the floor beside my side of the bed.

I smiled as I saw him take out all of the tiny blankets and begin folding them up and stacking them on the dresser behind him. "You are going to make an amazing daddy." I told him softly since Mia had lost her latch on the bottle signaling her to be asleep.

Edward shot a smile at me over his shoulder before picking the basket back up surveying the room. "Thanks, love, you are going to make an amazing momma too. Where are we going to put her?" He asked looking around the room for a big enough flat surface to set the basket.

"How about on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed, we can lay a blanket over the top of it and set the basket there?" I suggested as I burped Mia like Victoria had told me to and got the intended result as Edward settled her temporary bed into place.

He came and took her gently from my arms and snuggled her close before laying her down gently in her basket before covering her gently with her blanket that she had come home in.

I was awakened it seemed like right after I had fallen asleep by a shrill cry coming from the foot of our bed. I jerked upright glancing over at Edward right before jumping out of bed and racing to Mia's bed. "Shhh baby girl, momma's here." I told her quietly as I scooped her up in my arms gently rocking her from side to side.

Around one o'clock that afternoon Edward and I dragged ourselves out of bed at the insistence of the tiny human howling from the foot of our bed. "I'll get her. You go take a shower." Edward said as he ran a hand through his hair.

I nodded and headed towards the bathroom and a good wake up call. "Coffee please." I begged over my shoulder as he changed Mia's diaper on the foot of our bed.

"Sure thing, baby."

An hour later found me sitting at the island digging into a huge plate of chicken noodle soup that Esme had brought over while she chatted with Mia who sat in her car seat on top of the countertop. Edward had run to town really quick to drop off the paperwork and pick up some baby essentials for Mia and Emmett had left right before Esme had shown up. "This is so good, Ma. Thank you so much." I told her between mouthfuls of the delicious rich soup.

She just laughed. "I know how it is to have a newborn baby in the house. Cooking is the last thing on your mind. I remember when Charlie brought you home and told me to 'handle' you. It was that day that I truly became a mother. You may not be biologically mine but you are mine in every other sense of the word just like little Mia here." She cooed the last part to the baby who just stared blankly at her.

I smiled and nodded. "I know little to nothing about taking care of babies but I guess I will learn along the way." I admitted honestly to her. I knew the basics. How to feed them, bathe them, dress them, change their diapers, etc…

"You will do wonderful, sweetheart. I have complete faith in both you and Edward as parents. The baby you lost so long ago would have been lucky to have you guys as parents. I was so sad when you lost the baby because of Charlie's temper." She told me as she tickled Mia's sleeper covered feet.

I gasped and looked at her with shocked eyes. "Does everybody know about him?" I asked in astonishment because Jasper had admitted last night or early this morning actually that he had known about the baby all along too.

"Sweet girl, you glowed for the months that you were pregnant with him and you are my daughter. I know when something is wrong or bothering you. I think the only person that didn't know was Charlie but in the end he accomplished what he would have wanted if he had known. I wish with everything I have in me that I would have been here that night to protect you instead of at the dang movies with Carlisle." She said with tears in her eyes.

I shook my head. "Don't Ma. No regrets. Yes, I wished for days, weeks, months, even years that I would have been able to protect my baby from Charlie's wrath but God had other plans for him and needed him more than I needed him." I told her the reasoning that I had been okay with my miscarriage.

She nodded and scooped baby Mia out of her car seat. "All is right in the world now isn't it Mia Esme?" She asked the baby as she stood and went to the refrigerator.

I laughed because she was obviously excited to have a namesake before digging back into my soup before it got too cold.

"Have you thought about trying to breastfeed her to encourage the mother daughter bond between the two of you?" She asked me out of the blue when I was mid bite.

I spit my noodles and soup out all around my bowl. "I can't do that, Ma, I've not been pregnant!" I exclaimed as I used my napkin to clean up my mess that I had made.

She just laughed. "You can if you really want to. I know a lady that her daughter has breast fed each of her adopted children." Esme informed me seriously.

I smiled at the thought. "I would love to do that. I didn't even know it was an option. I will have to call a lactation consultant later to find out how to go about it. Thanks, Ma."

She smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a fantastic idea, sweetheart. When are you guys taking Mia for her first checkup?"

I swallowed my bite of soup. "Emmett came over first thing this morning and deemed her perfectly healthy. She has an appointment with a pediatrician in Cheyenne in two weeks for her six week check-up appointment." I told her as I dug back into my soup.

The more I thought about the things that a mother had to do for her children the more questions I had so I decided to voice them to the one that has been a mother to so many of us.

"Ma, how am I going to teach her how to be a good person? How do I teach a child to have standards and values and morals when they grow up? She's obviously not been mistreated in the few weeks that she's been in this world but her heritage is not something to be proud of. How do I overcome that?" I asked her as I stood to go put my bowl in the dishwasher as she warmed Mia a bottle.

I scooped Mia from her arms so she could check the temperature of the milk. "You don't teach them those things in a lesson, Bella. You teach them those things by raising them right. Teaching them right from wrong the correct way every day, letting them know that you still love them even though you are having to punish them for something wrong. You teach them morals, values, and standard by setting a good example for them. You had a very bad time of it growing up but you still turned out to be a wonderful smart beautiful young woman despite it all." She said as she tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear before stealing Mia back. "You will do a wonderful job, Bella, you have nothing to worry about. I promise. Now, I'm going to have a talk and snack with my youngest granddaughter." She said as she headed for the living room.

"I'm going to take a ride around the ranch and check on everything, Ma. I'll be back in about an hour or so." I called to her as I headed towards mine and Edward's bedroom to throw on some more layers.

"That's fine. Miss Mia and I are going to go over and visit with Alice, Rose, and all the girls." Esme called back.

I quickly stuck my head back out. "Be sure to put her car seat cover-"I stopped when she held a hand up.

She smiled at me gently. "I will make sure she is nice and bundled up and not an ounce of cold air hits her. Rose texted earlier and said that she went through Rylie's baby clothes and found several cute zero to three month outfits for Mia and Alice said she has some small diapers and things for her."

I nodded and headed back to the bedroom happy that my sisters seem to be pulling together to help with the newest addition to the family. "That sounds great, Ma. Give them all hugs and kisses from both Edward and I." I called over my shoulder.

Once I was dressed I came back into the living room and smiled at my daughter all bundled up in her car seat looking cute as ever. I kissed her gently on top of the head smelling her wonderful baby smell that I was certain to wear off sooner or later. "I love you, angel. I'll be back in a little bit. Have fun visiting your aunts and cousins." I told her as I kissed Esme on the cheek before heading out the back door. "Thanks, Ma. Love you!" I called before I shut the door.

Edward found me tossing broken limbs off of the fence line almost two hours later. "There you are." He said as he dismounted Aladdin. "I came home and nobody was there. Where's Mia? What did Em say about her?" He asked rapidly as he began helping me get the last of the limbs off the fence.

"Ma took her to visit Alice and Rose. They each have some things for her to tide us over until we go shopping. Emmett said she is a healthy little girl and has set us with a pediatrician in Cheyenne in two weeks for her six week check-up." I told him as we cleared the last of the limbs out of the way.

He nodded. "Okay, I figured one of them had her. I will be glad when this cattle and stuff is all gone so we don't have to worry about all of this anymore. That's great about everything Emmett done for us." Edward said as he tugged me against his chest for a quick kiss. "I love you, Isabella Marie, more than life itself." He whispered against my lips.

After a few pecks we pulled apart and both hopped up onto Gypsy's back to finish checking the hay and the fence line.

I was astonished as we stepped through the front door at the huge pile of 'stuff' that was laying in the middle of our living room floor. "Ma?!" We both called out as we toed off our boots and stowed them in the coat closet along with our coats, hats, gloves, and scarves.

"In here!" She called from what sounded to be our bedroom.

I looked at Edward in confusion before grabbing his hand and leading the way towards our bedroom. "I wonder what is going on?" I whispered to him as we walked cautiously down the hall.

The sight before me brought tears to my eyes because it was beautiful and amazing and absolutely perfect. "Ma?" I whispered as I saw her sitting in my chair gently rocking baby Mia in the cradle that she had rocked me in when I was a baby. "Where did you find this old thing?" I asked her as I smiled down at my sleeping baby. "And didn't it used to be white?" I asked her as I ran my hand along the side of the cradle. It was beautiful because I knew Carlisle had made it for me so that Esme could keep me with her in any room without holding me all the time. It was made from scrap barn wood and had slats running along each end so that the baby couldn't even stick a finger through each gap. Little white ribbons were tied on each side to hold the bumper pad in place and it was hooked to a stand so that it could swing while the stand had wheels on them to make it easier to push around. It was painted a flat black paint that allowed the bedding and baby to be center of attention.

Esme just laughed. "It did but after sitting in the loft of the barn for twenty five years it was a little rough around the edges. Carlisle dug it out this morning and has been working on it all day while I have been piecing together old blankets of Kylie's and Rylie's to make her bedding. We wanted to surprise both of you." She explained as she rubbed Mia's stomach gently.

I nodded. "I was wondering where he was at when I went to fetch Gypsy." I told her as Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders tugging me into his side. "What do you think of the cradle?" I asked him quietly.

He smiled. "I think it's perfect. We can tell her that it was made by her Papa and that her momma slept in it as a baby." He said as he kissed me on top of the head.

I just smiled as we watched Mia sleep peacefully in her new cradle. "This should hold her for at least a few months but I would still like to get her nursery set up and my office moved into what used to be Alice's room as soon as we can."

He nodded in agreement. "Let's go in the living room and let her sleep for a little bit." Edward said as he held a hand out for Esme to pull her up from the chair that sat between our outside door and Mia's cradle.

We all settled in the living room and spent the next two hours chatting it up and making plans for the nursery and for Esme to come babysit Mia while we worked during the day until Mia's crying alerted us that she was awake.


	24. Chapter 24

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Chapter 24 (2851)

The next few days went on like this. I quickly realized that Mia controlled both Edward and I but it was well worth it to see her cuddle in close as she was going to sleep. Edward and I tried to work our work schedules out so that one of us was always with her but Esme still came over and was around in case we needed her. Over the past few days the entire family had been in and out to help relocate the office over a room, paint the office turned nursery, and play with baby Mia. We had decided to go with dark wood furniture in the nursery so that she could use it for years to come and it wouldn't show wear and tear so easily. I had scoured the internet looking for decorating ideas for the nursery before we painted it and came to a shocking realization, most baby girl crib bedding sets were either pink or purple or very loud. I wanted something calm and soothing so we decided to go with a black and white crib bedding set and paint the walls for color. We painted the biggest wall in the room a hot pink to bring color into the room while we painted the other three walls a soft grey color. It was going to look beautiful and girly without being solid pink.

It was now Saturday morning and we were getting ready to head to Cheyenne to buy out the baby stores for things we needed for baby Mia. We had had her for three days now and it was both demanding and wonderful all at the same time. I had dressed Mia in one of the outfits that Rose had given us from Rylie's old outfits and the onesie that Alice had given me this morning, it was a pair of soft blue jeans with a black onesie that said 'I'm the Cutest Niece' on the front of it and a cream colored jacket. I had paired it with a pink, white, and grey crochet hat with a huge white and pink flower that sat on the side of her head, it came with white and pink crochet 'shoes' that I had slipped on over her socks. I was scared about her being in and out of the cold all day but I made sure she was bundled up good and warm.

"Here sweetheart, take extra blankets so you can lay her down in the seat part of the carts instead of carrying the car seat. She will get tired of it eventually." Esme said as she handed me a few extra blankets to tuck into the diaper bag.

I nodded. "Thanks, Ma." I told her as I kissed her on the cheek as I watched Edward strap Mia in to her car seat before tucking a blanket around her and putting the cover over her seat.

"Say 'Mommy, we're ready.'" Edward said in a baby voice as he sealed the flap that covered her face.

I quickly slipped on my jacket, hat, and gloves before slipping the diaper bag over my head. "Let's go then, our girl needs a good place to call her own." I told him as I held open the door for her.

It took us a little over an hour to get into Cheyenne and thankfully Mia slept the whole way but I knew we wouldn't get lucky enough for her to sleep the day through. "Where to first, baby?" Edward said as city limits came into sight in the distance.

I sighed because we were headed to my all-time favorite store. "Kohl's, babe, Kohl's." I told him with a smile on my face. He groaned but pulled into the parking lot before turning off the truck. I was literally bouncing in my seat in excitement. I couldn't wait to get started on buying the things she needed even though it was going to be an obscene amount of money. "I'm so excited!" I told Edward excitedly.

He groaned and shook his head. "Let's go spend all of our money." He said as he slid out of the truck to grab Mia from her car seat. He bundled her up in blankets and I laid one over the top of her as she cuddled against his chest.

I grabbed the diaper bag, the essentials list, and the extra blankets for laying her in the cart. "Let's go so she can get in out of the weather." I told him as I led the way to the store as the wind blew around us.

We grabbed two carts when we got inside as I made a padded bed for Mia out of the extra blankets in the seat area of one of the carts. "Why are we getting two buggies?" Edward asked as he laid Mia down and covered her body back up.

I just laughed and grabbed the empty one as he already had the one with Mia in it. "Come on husband, let me show you how to shop."

We bought everything under the moon it seemed. The entire back of the truck was completely full as was the back seat beside Mia's new car seat on our way home. She was now the proud owner of a multitude of clothes including sleepers, onesies, shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, socks, and shoes; as well as accessories that would make her aunt Alice and Rose proud. The furniture and necessities is what cost us the most. I found the most adorable solution to a traditional baby bath tub, it was a huge flower that we could stick in the kitchen sink to bathe her until she outgrew the sink. We also bought several dressers, curios, shelves, and changing table to match the crib that we chose so that all of her new stuff would have a place to go. We found the perfect crib set as well as the bedroom accessories to match in a beautiful girly black and white flower pattern. Not only did she get an entire crib set but she also got the lamp, diaper holder, basket liners, throw pillows, mobile, wall hangings, animal holder, curtains, and valances to match also. And on top of that we had to get toys and entertainment pieces for her. An obscene amount of money didn't begin to describe the amount that had popped up on the cash register as we left but we wouldn't need to leave the house for several weeks if then because we also bought a few boxes of diapers in a variety of sizes as well as formula, soaps, lotions, medicine, pacifiers, breast pump, wipes, powder, and everything else the store offered. The child was set for at least the first year on the essential stuff.

I was currently standing in the doorway to the new nursery trying to stifle my giggles with my sisters and Esme as all the men we loved sat around the floor with various pieces of furniture trying to put it all together. "You guys need some help?" I asked them as Alice nudged my shoulder.

Edward glared at me while Emmett, Carlisle, and Jasper didn't even look up from their piles of various pieces.

I held my hands up in defense. "Sorry, I just know how bad you are at puzzles and how good I am at them." I told him with a sweet smile on my face. It was nearing six o'clock at night and the guys had been at this for about three hours now, ever since we had gotten home from Cheyenne.

Alice giggled as she held Mia on top of her swollen stomach. "I wonder how long they are going to try putting this stuff together before swapping roles." She said quietly into Mia's soft hair.

I shrugged before leaning up against the door jamb. "I don't figure they will try it much longer."

Rose just huffed and barged into the room. "Emmett your daughters could put that damned shelf together with their eyes closed." She said as she nudged him with her knees and snatched the instructions out of his hands. "Go play with the kids." She told him as she sank to her knees to take over building the shelf.

I sighed and went to not take over putting together the crib but to help Edward put it together. "Babe, let me help you. Maybe we can let Mia sleep in her own room tonight." I told him as I pulled the instructions to rest on the floor between us.

He sighed and kissed the side of my head as he willingly accepted my help.

I laughed as I glanced over my shoulder and saw Jasper looking longingly at his wife who still stood in the doorway holding Mia against her chest. "Ali?" He asked her.

She just laughed and shook her head. "Nope, I offered it once and you told me no. You are all on your own here, Jazzy." She said as she turned tail and headed back towards the living room where Emmett and all four girls were playing.

Jasper just shook his head as he picked up his set of instructions again to hopefully get a better perspective on how to put together the curio cabinet. Esme and Carlisle were whispering quietly as they began making progress on the dresser/changing table.

I ran my hands along the edge of the finished crib almost an hour later and smiled in satisfaction as Alice sat in the middle of the floor on the rug folding the clothes she had washed while the rest of us put together the furniture. "Looks good doesn't it, Ali?" I asked her as I looked around. The nursery was nearly complete. Rose was putting up the stacks of clothes that Alice was folding her and handing her while I was putting the decorations out around the room.

She nodded and smiled. "It looks amazing, Bella. Mia is one lucky little girl." She said as she reached over and tickled Mia's toes as she swung gently in her new swing.

I smiled at her and finished tying the bumper pad to the rails of the crib. "Thanks, Ali. Your boys and girls are lucky children also. Don't sell yourself short." I told her as I unwrapped the decorations hanging from the mobile that I had attached to the crib.

She nodded and we both looked at Rose who hadn't said anything. "Rose?" I asked softly.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "Emmett wants more children and I can't give them to him." She said with tears in her eyes.

I sighed and walked to her to pull her into my arms. "You can have children together in other ways than biological. Look at Edward and I. We have Mia through adoption, and you guys can do the same thing." I told her honestly.

She nodded and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "He said the same thing the other day when he asked me to marry him." She said so softly I almost didn't hear her.

I shook my head and looked at her curiously. "Care to repeat that?"

She smiled and nodded as she reached under her shirt and pulled a long necklace with an amazing ring dangling from it out of her shirt. "He asked me to marry him and I said yes."

We both squealed in delight and wrapped our arms around her tightly. I suddenly remembered an overheard conversation between Rose and Gypsy soon after she first got here. "What about Brandon?"

She shook her head. "Emmett took care of that idiot when he called on New Year's night and we haven't heard a peep from him since."

I hugged her even tighter. "That's great, Rose." I told her honestly because it finally felt like everything was settling down and everyone I knew was finally happy and it all had started when Charlie died.

We chatted a few minutes over engagement plans and children plans before the guys and Esme called us from the living room. "Dinner's ready!"

We all quickly scrambled from the floor before racing each other to the living room because Emmett was in residence and there was never much food left when he was around. I guess I better get used to that because it seemed like he was sticking around for the permanent long haul.

Later that night Edward and I were standing over Mia as she lay in her brand new crib. Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tugged me firmly against his side. "It looks beautiful in here, baby." He whispered as he kissed the side of my head gently.

I smiled as I reached over the edge of the crib to turn on the sleep mat that was placed under her sheet as well as the baby monitor that sat in the corner of the crib so we could hear her whenever she cried. "Thanks, husband." We slowly walked out of the room and pulled the door mostly shut and I turned the overhead light off and her nightlight kicked on automatically. "Let's get to bed before she demands attention." I told him as we walked across the hall into the master bedroom.

I squealed in delight when he suddenly picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder.

The rest of the weekend and the following week was spent immersing myself into motherhood and getting things ready for George and his wife to look at this Friday. Early Friday morning found Edward, Mia, and I were at his old house, his grandparent's house, cleaning things up and packing it up to haul back to the house for storage. "Edward , I think it would be easier if you just decide what you are leaving and then we can take the rest or throw away what you don't want?" I suggested as I tucked Mia into the carrier that Edward had strapped to himself.

He nodded and looked around. "I can do that. Can you go through the kitchen and pick out what you want to keep and pile the rest in the back of your truck and we can take it to the salvation army later?" He asked as he started going through the drawers of his grandfather's old desk.

I nodded and headed for the kitchen. I had so many good memories in this house this was kind of bittersweet for me. A knock on the door detours me from my path to the kitchen. "I got it!" I called back to Edward.

I opened the door to see our entire family standing there. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked them as I opened the door wide for them to come in out of the chilly weather.

They all smiled as they trudged past me stomping off their boots. "Here to help, sissy." The guys said as they hollered out for Edward and headed his way.

I shook my head at them and looked at my sisters before realizing that five very important people were missing from this gathering. Esme and the girls were all missing so I assumed that she was babysitting while we knocked this out. "Esme?" I asked knowing the woman that had raised me had probably sent them all over here to help us.

They nodded as they each took an arm and steered us back the way I had come. "Yeah, she came and kidnapped the girls and told Emmett and I to get our butts over here to help. Thank goodness he wasn't on a call or naked or something cause she just barged in like she owned the place." Rose said giggling as she recalled the event.

I nodded. "Yeah, that's the way Ma operates. She has caught every single one of us in a compromising position at least once. You guys are due your turns." I told them as I started pulling things out of the cabinets. "If you guys see something you want you can have it otherwise everything in here is going to the salvation army." I told them as they started pulling things out of the cabinets. Alice sat herself on the floor to get the lower cabinets since her center of balance was off.

"I don't want Esme to ever see me like that." Rose said as she sorted through the bowls she had pulled from the cabinet.

I just laughed. "Honey, do you think Edward and I wanted her to catch us like that? We were seventeen!" I told her between peals of laughter and embarrassment.

"That was the worst moment of my entire life besides when I lost you." Edward said from the doorway.

I gasped and nearly fell off my chair in surprise. "Edward!"

He just laughed and gripped my hips to steady me. "Sorry to interrupt but our daughter is hungry." He said as he unstrapped Mia from his chest.

I groaned because this is not how I wanted our family to find out that I had decided to breastfeed her. "Can't you give her the bottle Edward?" Alice snickered from the floor.


	25. Chapter 25

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Chapter 25 (2237)

I groaned as I took Mia from Edward and held her to my chest where she started rooting around for her meal as I turned to face my sisters. "I've decided to breastfeed her and the only way to trigger my milk production is to have her breastfeed like normal." I told them as I headed for the back bedroom where I had sat the diaper bag and portable playpen when we had first arrived. My sisters followed me in curiosity.

"How does it work, Bella, you weren't pregnant?" Alice asked as she sat on the edge of the bed while I rummaged through the diaper bag to get the supplemental nursing system out and fill it with formula. It was just temporary until my milk started coming in in adequate amounts enough to fill her up.

I nodded in agreement as I hooked the nursing cover-up over my neck so that I could get her latched on and the tubing in her mouth before showing them. "I have to supplement with formula for the time being until my milk comes in. The lactation specialist that I talked to last Friday said that if I would pump or have her suckle like normal every few hours that it would trick my body into producing milk for her." I explained to them as I felt her latch on. My nipples were very sore these days but it would all be worth it when I could feed her completely from breast milk alone.

"Hmm… I wander if that could work for me when Emmett and I adopt a baby?" Rose said as I lifted up the blanket to show them how it worked.

"I don't know, Rose. I can give you the number to the lactation consultant whenever the time comes. She suggested going on hormone therapy first to trick my body into thinking it was pregnant but because Mia was already here she said this way would work better." I told them as I showed them the tubing that ran along either side of my nipple and into the corners of Mia's mouth. "As she sucks she pulls the milk through the tubes." I explained to them as I hooked the bottle on my other bra strap.

"How often does she eat?" Alice asked me curiously as she played with Mia's little sock covered feet.

I laughed lightly as I switched breasts and readjusted the bottle and tubing. "She feeds about every two hours or so but I nurse between each of her feedings to get my production started flowing pretty good. It's already there a little bit but I want to be able to feed her without the aid." I told them as she settled back down to finish eating.

"Does the pumping hurt?" Alice asked curiously.

I groaned and nodded. "You have no idea. I don't know if it is because I am pretty much forcing my body to lactate or what but yes it hurts so bad but it is so worth it." I told them with a smile on my face as I watched my daughter eat away.

"Are your boobs tender?" Rose asked as she leaned forward and stroked Mia's soft reddish curls.

I nodded. "They are and my nipples are super tender but again it is so worth it in the end."

They both nodded. "How often are you pumping if she feeds every couple of hours?" Alice asked curiously.

I laughed. "I feel like a milk cow these days because I am either feeding her or pumping every hour to hour and a half. I finally started to actually get some milk the day before yesterday and I got almost a full ounce last night." I told them excitedly because I had been warned that it could take up to a few months before my milk would come in. But I had been one of those 'rare' cases where my milk was coming in within the first week.

They both laughed at my milk cow reference. "That's great news. Isn't it?" Alice asked as curiously as Mia finished the bottle of formula. I pulled the tubing from her house and allowed her to still suckle for a few more minutes.

I nodded eagerly. "It's really amazing that my milk is coming in so soon. I hope to be able to lose the contraption within the next few weeks." I told them as I listened to Mia suckling at my breast.

"What about the pumping?"

I sighed. "I figure I will still need to pump for a while yet just to increase the milk flow. That also gives Edward an opportunity to feed her while I pump more out." I told them as I switched breasts with Mia.

"Rose will you get the pumping kit out of the bag please? I need to pump for at least ten minutes on each side once she is finished." I asked her since Edward was normally the one helping me but he was busy going through family stuff.

She nodded and pulled out the bluish green thing that had odd looking contraptions hooked up to it. "This thing looks scary." She said as she sat it on the bed beside me.

I just laughed and nodded in agreement. "I completely agree and this sucker has some suction power too." I told them as Mia released my nipple from her mouth and gave a contented sigh. "She's done." I told them as I laughed lightly. I pulled her from under the cover-up and handed her to Alice who was reaching for her.

I sighed as I placed each suction cup on each breast and pushed the button to turn them on. I placed the cover-up back over me and settled back against the wall. "You know this used to be Edward's bedroom when he was a teenager." I commented as I looked around the room and the memories ran through my mind.

Alice sighed. "I bet it was nice with Edward living so close by."

I shrugged my shoulders in indifference. "It was nice to have a place to escape to but this house saw a lot of sadness throughout the years also. Edward's parents died when he was eight and his grandparents were sick most of his high school years. It was nice but there were days that weren't so good either." I told them as I looked around the room again.

They both nodded and decided to change the subject all together. "I believe Emmett and I have found a prospective baby." Rose said quietly as she set up the portable play pen for Alice to lay a sleeping Mia in it.

"That's great, Rose. I didn't even know you guys were looking just yet." I told her as I turned off the machine and released their suction from my breasts before wiping them clean.

I pulled the containers out from under the cover-up and smiled at the amount in the bottles. I had about an ounce in each bottle and that was after she had nursed on me for about twenty minutes or so. It was improving. "Is that good?" Rose asked as she saw the smile on my face.

I nodded eagerly. "It's great!" I told them as I cleaned everything up and packed it back into the bag.

I was so engrossed in chattering with my sisters and cleaning out cupboards that the dinging from my phone caught me off guard an hour later.

"What's that?" Alice asked.

I groaned. "My alarm to let me know that I need to go pump again."

We spent the rest of the day cleaning out and hauling things to the Salvation Army until the house was spotless and we were all spent. "I'm so exhausted!" I whined to Edward as we collapsed on our couch with Mia asleep in her cradle at the end of the couch.

Edward just chuckled. "I think this breastfeeding this is wearing you out."

I nodded. "It is because I am having to get up every few hours to either pump or feed her. I'm not getting any good sleep right now but it will be well worth it in the end." I told him as I cuddled back into his chest.

He sighed and hummed in agreement because he knew how much this meant to me. "Well, hopefully after this weekend we won't have the cattle or my grandparent's house to have to deal with anymore."

"I know, I can't believe we are possibly going to have George Strait living in a house that holds so many memories for us." I told him as I tugged his arm around my waist and threaded my fingers through his.

He settled down behind me and snuggled into my back. "We will always have those memories, baby, just because the house is being leased out doesn't mean our memories will vanish. Wouldn't you rather that old house being lived in and creating new memories instead of sitting empty and collecting cobwebs?"

I nodded. "I would and so would your grandparent's-"

The doorbell rang interrupting my sentence and our conversation. I quickly jumped up and darted for the door before it woke Mia up. Just as I opened the door I heard a small cry from the cradle and groaned.

"Are we at the wrong house?" A sweet voice asked from the other side of the threshold.

I looked up and gasped because there stood the one and only George and Norma Strait in all their glory. "No, unfortunately I believe you are at the right house. Please come in. I'm Isabella Masen." I told them as I gestured for them to come on in the house.

They both laughed. "You have that new parent look all over your face, sweet girl." Norma said as she stepped into the house. "Should we take our shoes off?" She asked as she looked at the pile of shoes just inside the door.

I shrugged my shoulders. "You don't have to, it's just always been a tradition for us instilled by our mother." I told her as I shut the door behind them. "It is a pleasure to meet you." I told them as I shook each of their hands but a crying from behind me was gaining my attention. "Please excuse me." I told them as I quickly rounded the couch and took Mia from Edward and headed towards the bedroom without another word.

Forty five minutes later I walked back into the living room with a happy and contented Mia held in my arms. I was so embarrassed that I had just darted from the room when we had such grand company but it was what it was and my baby girl had been hungry. Again. I was stunned when I saw everybody relaxing in the living room.

George and Norma were curled together in one of the big chairs, Emmett and Rosalie were sat side by side with their girls asleep in their laps on the loveseat, Jasper and Alice were curled in the other big chair with Alyssa, her teddy bear and blanket in their laps while Brooklyn was curled up in Esme's lap as she and Carlisle sat on the couch. They all looked very comfortable and relaxed which I was grateful for. "Sorry about that. Mia demanded a snack." I told them as I settled down between Esme and Edward on the couch.

Norma is the one that broke the uncomfortable feeling in the room. "I remember those days when the baby ruled the roost."

I laughed because that was so very true. "I never would have realized how much a baby demanded until this little one came home with us."

We chatted for a little bit before the guys decided to go show George the equipment, cattle, and everything involved with the cattle ranching business while us women decided to go show Norma the house.

Later that evening over dinner we settled on prices for everything, terms of lease, length of lease, and everything that the leasing of the Masen's house and property, 500 acres of our land, and buying the cattle and everything that entailed. "I will type up a contract tonight that will take include everything we have talked about tonight and we can look over it again tomorrow. Will that be alright?" Edward asked as we walked George and Norma out to their truck.

George nodded and shook hands with Edward. "Sounds fine to me, Edward. Now if could just extract my wife from your daughter we will get out of your hair." I heard him say as Norma, Mia, and I trailed behind the guys.

Norma just laughed. "George you be quiet. You have been just as bad evening also." She said before kissing Mia on top of her head before handing her gently to me. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Bella. You and your entire family are amazing and so sweet." She said as she hugged me gently.

"Thanks, Norma, I wouldn't know what to do without any of them." I told her as Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his side.

We waved bye to them as they headed back down the driveway. "Wow. That was George Strait in our house, on our horses, sitting at our table, and holding our daughter."


	26. Chapter 26

**Don't forget picture link can be found on my profile page.**

Chapter 26 (3508)

Signing the contract with George and Norma was a very surreal experience, especially because Norma was holding Mia in her arms as we signed our names on the appropriate lines. It has now been five months since we signed that contract and summer was in full swing around our place and baby Mia was growing so fast it was scary. Mia was now a little over six months old and was absolutely beautiful. She had a headful of bright red hair with the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. She was such a happy baby and now that I had been breastfeeding her completely on my own for a little over three months she had grown so much and I was proud of that. She weighed in the other day at a big whopping 18 pounds which was great for her age. She had a headful of dark brown hair and the most expressive bright blue eyes I had ever seen. I was surprised that her hair had changed from shockingly red to such a dark chocolate brown.

The past five months have been a flurry of activity for our family. Alice and Jasper's boys, Colton Elias and Jackson Micah, were now a little over four months old and were cute as could be. I suppose the biggest surprise for all of us was with Rose and Emmett. They not only adopted a newborn but they also adopted the four siblings that went with the newborn. Apparently they were wards of the state and the baby was being put up for adoption as soon as he was born because the mother was addicted to drugs and the father was put in jail for robbery. They were now the proud parents of seven children. Starting with the oldest there is Paxton Blayne who is five years old, just a mere seven months older than Kylie Anne who is also five. Then there is Ashlynn Marie who is three years old followed by Sienna Marie who will be three years old next month. Then there are Oscar Brandon and Rylie Nicole who are just a mere two months apart at twenty three and twenty one months respectively. Then there is the angel that started the whole process of them adopting the five siblings, Calvyn Ryan who is only three weeks old.

Our family had grown exponentially over the past five months but it was entertaining when we all got together for dinner or lunch. Jasper had started taking a few classes at the local college while I was taking a few online courses until I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. The ranch had also started taking on a new look. We had transformed the barns into a training facility for Edward's training sessions as well as transforming the equipment building into a horse barn for the horses Edward trained here. He has been busy since we officially opened our doors to customers as a training facility. We respected George and Norma's need for privacy and rarely even saw them unless we ran into them out on the ranch as we were just riding around. They seemed happy with their investment in the cattle ranching business.

Emmett and Rose had been forced to either build onto the house Rose originally lived in by herself or build a new bigger one. They decided since they had so many children that it would be better to just build a new bigger one so that they didn't have to live in a construction zone while building it. They had chosen to build one a little ways off the main driveway so that they could be secluded a little bit and so all their kids could have ample space to run around and have room for all their toys. They built a three story house, five bedroom, six bath home so that it would fit all of them. They had officially moved the day Calvyn was born so they had only been there a short period of time but they both seemed to be infinitely happier living there. It was pretty amazing just looking at it from the outside. It was set back in the trees sort of but still had an adequate amount of space for a yard. I loved how the upper level patio's created a space for the kids to play outside when it was raining or ugly outside underneath them. I was so proud of my sister and Emmett. They had also gotten married at the courthouse so that the adoption of the kids would go through seamlessly. They didn't regret it in the least since they were already engaged, they decided to put the money for the wedding into the house and get what they wanted.

Gurgling coming through the baby monitor alerted me that Mia was awake from her nap. I wiped my hands on the dish towel and went to get my baby girl from her crib. I smiled when I walked in the room. She was sitting up in her crib playing with her stuffed green frog that Edward had bought her last month when we had to go buy her some bigger clothes.

"Good afternoon, sweet angel." I told her as I peeked over the side of her crib which caused her to squeal in laughter which in turn caused me to laugh.

"Is mama's angel hungry?" I asked her as I reached for her.

She lifted her arms up for me as she 'babbled' away. I sat down in the rocker in the corner of the room and settled her in at my breast as I peeked out the curtain at her daddy as he with a horse in the round pen. "Once you get finished, angel, we will go out and get daddy. He's been working hard today so maybe he will take a lunch break with us and we can all go swimming." I told her as she looked up at me with those big blue eyes of hers as she sucked greedily.

I chuckled. "I know you are a daddy's girl and that you miss him but he has to work otherwise he would go crazy with boredom." I told her honestly.

She slapped at my breast in response.

"I know he wouldn't be bored with you around but then what would mama do?"

She smiled around my nipple so I shut up so she could finish her lunch. She was sleeping mostly through the night these days so she fed more often during the day to compensate.

Once she was finished nursing I changed her diaper before putting her into a little sundress, hat, and sandals before heading outside. I smiled as I watched Edward walk a horse round and round in the round pen swinging a rope behind it to make it keep pace. "Hello, daddy!" I called once I stepped up on the bottom rung of the fence.

He turned his head and smiled when he saw me and Mia standing there. She was squealing away and slapping her hands in the air when she saw him. "Just a minute." He called to us.

I nodded and continued playing with Mia who was squealing in joy at seeing her daddy and the horse. "Do you see daddy?" I teased her by raising and lowering her above the post.

Within just a few minutes Edward turned the horse loose and just let it work off some frustration alone in the paddock while he came out of the pen. "Hello my lovelies." He said as he swept me up against his chest and planted a steamy kiss against my lips that caused me to remember our steamy session in the shower last night. "Hmmm….damn that's good." He said cockily as he pulled away placing a few more pecks against my lips.

I just smiled as Mia demanded attention. She was definitely a daddy's girl. When he was in the room nobody else existed to her. "There's daddy's little angel. Did you have a good nap?" He asked her as he nuzzled her neck causing her to laugh and slap at his face.

I smiled as she lunged for him causing the most beautiful smile to spread across his face as he took her in his arms placing kisses all over her little chubby cheeks and face causing her to squeal out loud. "Are you about done for the day?" I asked him between Mia's squeals. There was nothing more beautiful to me than watching Edward with our daughter.

He nodded. "Yeah for now I am just going to let her run free for the rest of the day since she listened so well this morning." He said nodding back at the panting horse that was taking a break from running and bucking. "Why?" He asked curiously when I got a huge smile on my face.

"How about we spend some time at the swimming hole? The whole family is down there with all the kids." I told him as I took Mia back from him.

He nodded. "Picnic or lunch here?" He asked as we headed for the house.

"Lunch here first since I already have it ready and waiting." I told him as we walked through the back door into the kitchen.

I smiled when he took a deep breath and inhaled the aromas wafting off the lunch I had prepared for us. I had made left over rotisserie chicken wraps with left-over chicken from last night along with a fruit salad for a side dish. This was one thing I was getting good at now that I didn't have to worry about cattle ranching anymore, cooking, and I loved it. "What's for lunch?" He asked as he washed his hands in the sink.

I told him what I had made while I strapped Mia in her high chair and gave her some cut up bananas to chew on. We had been introducing her to solid foods for a few weeks now and it was only for a snack after she had nursed as that was still her most important source of food every day.

"I used the left over rotisserie chicken from last night and made chicken wraps for us so that it didn't get fed to buckshot." I told him as we both took a bite.

He nodded in appreciation as he dug into his lunch. When we were finished he snatched up a giggling slimy Mia from her high chair and headed for the nursery. "I'll get Mia cleaned up and into her swimsuit." He called over his shoulder as I headed into our room to lay out his swim trunks and to change into my own bathing suit. I felt my stomach roll as I bent over digging around for my white and yellow bikini and I quickly ran into the bathroom and threw up my delicious lunch that I had just eaten.

"Baby, you okay?" Edward asked as he ran into the bathroom.

I shook my head as I upheaved some more. I heard Edward rummaging around behind me and the water in the sink turning on before I felt a cool rag being spread across the back of my neck and another being held to my forehead. "Is this the first time you've been sick?" He asked quietly as he gathered my hair back away from my face.

I shook my head. "I didn't think so. I thought I heard you last night getting sick." He said as he wrapped my hair up on top of my head with a hair clip.

I nodded. "It's been happening for a few days now. I thought it was just something I had eaten but apparently it's more than that." I told him as I reached up to flush the toilet.

He scooped me up in his arms and carried me back into the bedroom. "Mia?" I asked as he sat me down in the chair in our room and propped my feet up on the ottoman.

"She's in her crib playing with froggy." He told me as he wiped my face with the cool rag. "What do you think could be causing this?" He asked me softly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Imaybepregnant." I mumbled because it had honestly occurred to me earlier this morning when I looked under the bathroom sink to find the Comet to scrub the toilet and saw my tampons sitting there and I realized I hadn't used them in quite a long time. Like several months long.

A crooked grin spread across his face as my words registered in his head. "Pregnant?" He asked quietly.

I shrugged and nodded at the same time because honestly I didn't know. "I don't know. Maybe. It's possible." I told him weakly.

"Have you taken a test yet?" He asked as he sat down on the ottoman and placed my feet in his lap.

I shook my head. "No, I've been too scared to take one by myself and too nervous to tell anyone." I admitted softly.

He nodded in understanding because this really was a scary situation for both of us. "Do you have one here somewhere?" He asked me softly as we both smiled at the sounds coming through Mia's monitor.

I nodded as a blush crept up on my cheeks. "They are under the bathroom sink in the spare bathroom." I admitted softly.

"Do you want to take one right now? I will be right here the entire time." He told me as he rubbed my feet soothingly.

I nodded and that is what we done. We took three pregnancy tests and they all said the same thing. Positive. Positive. Positive.

"Is this real?" I asked him a few hours later as we lay in the floor with Mia between us rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. She was getting ready to crawl she just hadn't took off yet, but it was going to happen any minute now.

He nodded with a smile on my face. "It seems like it is but we still need to verify that those tests are right." He said as he reached over to caress the side of my face.

I nodded and smiled at him. "We have the appointment for tomorrow morning since you had that poor receptionist nearly in tears over the phone earlier." I told him as I punched him in the shoulder.

He shook his head. "I just want to find out for sure and make sure everything is okay with you and the baby." He said as he shook a few toys just out of Mia's reach trying to get her to crawl but if was futile because she just laid down on her stomach and scooted towards them babbling the whole way. "You little sneaky thing." Edward said as he blew a raspberry on her bare back causing her to roll over giggling.

That is how we spent our afternoon and evening, lounging around the house just being together as a little family excited about the prospect of a new addition coming soon enough. We forgot all about going to the swimming hole and spending the afternoon playing with the family but it was perfect none the less.

Edward's pacing back and forth in the tiny was both amusing Mia and irritating me as we waited on the doctor to come in. Dr. Ashleigh Foster was the best according to Mia's pediatrician, Dr. Nathan Foster, her husband. When we called yesterday to get a referral to an OB he personally took the phone call and recommended his wife saying that they usually worked the same patients, her the parents him the children. "Edward." I ground out yet again as I dangled our keys above Mia's head allowing her to swat at them for entertainment.

"Sorry." He apologized yet again and walked to the door to read the poster tacked to the back of it about the varying stages of pregnancy.

I nearly fell off the bed with laughter when he nearly got hit by the door as the doctor came in. She was young but had an air of professionalism around her that caused me to smile. "Oh my, I'm so sorry." She apologized as Edward jumped back and yelped in surprise as Mia just cackled from her car seat.

Edward shook his head. "It's okay, I shouldn't have been standing behind the door." He said as he made his way to my side.

"So I have some great news as I just got your test results back." She said with a huge smile on her face. She was beautiful with her short blonde bob hairstyle that framed her face perfectly and she had big expressive green eyes that sparkled with excitement. "You are indeed pregnant and according to your hormone levels you are around sixteen to seventeen weeks pregnant." She said with a smile.

I could have sworn my jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment as Edward stumbled until he fell into the chair beside Mia's car seat. "Sixteen weeks?" Edward echoed softly and I looked at the doctor expectantly.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, around about. I would like to do an ultrasound to get an accurate gestational age and we might even be able to tell what it is today if you are far enough along." She said as she stood up and started to open the cabinets beside the exam table. "While this is booting up I would like to examine you, Bella. Is that okay?" She asked as she closed the cabinet doors again hiding the machine and computer screen.

I nodded dumbly. "Do I need to take my pants off?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded. "Your underwear too, just drape this sheet across you." She said as she handed me a soft light green sheet. "You can go behind the screen there and just come back out with the sheet wrapped around you." She instructed.

I hopped off the table and went behind the screen as she talked to Edward and played with Mia. I laid my jeans and underwear on top of the little cabinet that was back there and walked back around the screen with the sheet wrapped tightly around my waist. "All ready now." I said as I hopped back up on the table.

She nodded. "I was just telling Edward that you guys have a beautiful daughter together. She's got huge blue eyes that feel like they can look into your soul." She said as she opened the cabinet doors back up and began pulling things out to begin the examination.

We both nodded but remained silent. "Okay, momma, I am going to need you to take a deep breath and relax. Dad, it is your job to keep her calm." She said as she stuck my feet in the stirrups and tugged on my hips to scoot me down a little it. "There you go." She said as she folded the sheet up to rest on top of my knees while she quickly performed her examination which was over relatively quickly. "All done." She said as she stood up and tossed her gloves in the trash.

I put my feet down and draped the sheet back over my legs and naked bottom. "Everything looks good?" I asked her nervously.

She smiled and nodded. "Is there any reason to suspect that everything wouldn't be okay?" She asked curiously as she washed her hands.

I nodded. "We had a miscarriage at five months when I was seventeen." I told her softly as I gripped the sheet as I made my way behind the changing screen.

She nodded and wrote that down in my file. "Did something happen to cause the miscarriage or did it happen naturally?" She asked as I got dressed behind the screen.

"My father was to blame." I told her honestly. There was no sense in hiding the truth, it was time folks knew about the monster Charlie really was.

I walked back around the curtain to see Edward holding Mia in his arms and Dr. Foster standing there with her hand over her mouth. "How did the miscarriage happen exactly?" She asked quietly.

I sighed and took a deep breath as I hopped up on the exam table again. "He beat me and made me do strenuous ranch work for coming home late and making a 'b' on my report card." I told her nonchalantly.

She nodded and jotted that down in her notes. "So it wasn't a natural miscarriage, which is good news. Let's have a look at this baby, huh?" She said with a smile on her face.

I nodded and took Edward's hand in mine as he held Mia in his other arm. "Are you ready to see your baby brother or sister, angel?" I asked Mia as I tugged on her foot gently causing her to slap Edward's shoulder and laugh.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 (3688)

I think I was still in shock when we pulled into the driveway a few hours later but was quickly jolted back to reality when Mia started screaming from the backseat. "It is time for someone's lunch and nap." I said as I quickly hopped out of the truck and opened up the back door to grab her diaper bag as Edward grabbed our screaming child.

"Mia it's okay, angel, mama's right here." Edward said gently rocking her trying to get her to calm down.

I swapped the diaper bag for Mia as I hurried towards the house. "Shh Mia, Mama's right here." I told her as Edward unlocked the door and ushered us inside. As soon as the door was shut I was tugging up my shirt and bra so that Mia could latch on. I was in agony as my breasts were swollen with milk and she was screaming because she was hungry. I walked to the nursery with her already sucking greedily.

I settled into the rocker and pushed on the floor setting it in motion as Mia devoured her lunch and I sighed as instant relief came over me as the pressure in my breasts gave some as she nursed. "You know, angel, momma is gonna have another baby in a few months. What do you think about that?" I asked her as I stroked her hair gently.

She smiled around my nipple so I took that time to switch breasts and let her nurse on the other one some. "It's a surprise that's for sure but the doctor and daddy both seem to think that everything is going to be okay so I am going with them for the moment." I told her softly as she gazed up at me with her bright blue eyes.

"Everything is going to be okay, Isabella. God, wouldn't take another baby from us, he's not that cruel." Edward said as he came to sit on the ottoman that went with the rocker and put his hands on my knees. "Trust me on that. I will do whatever it takes to get you and this baby through this pregnancy safely." He said fiercely.

Tears sprung to my eyes and all I could do was nod in agreement. "Okay." I whispered to him softly.

"How long are we going to wait to tell everybody?" He asked quietly as he stroked Mia's hair softly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know." I said because honestly I was indifferent about it.

He smiled and took Mia from me when my nipple slipped from lack mouth. "Nap time, my sweet angel." He whispered as he laid her down in her crib gently.

He turned back to me and reached his hands down for me. "And adult time for us, my love." He said winking at me as he tugged me from the rocker. I giggled and willingly followed him to our bedroom.

The next month was like that. Edward showered me with love and attention and constant reassurance that our sweet little one was going to be okay. Today was the day that we were telling everybody that we were expecting and what we were expecting since we had known since the ultrasound as well as a birthday celebration for me. It was getting harder and harder to hide the pregnancy and that would take away from the birthday aspect of today which I was grateful for. I thought once you had children your birthday became inconsequential but everybody in my family had said otherwise and we all compromised on a family dinner to celebrate. Edward and I had decided to just keep it to ourselves until the second doctors' appointment so we could relish in the pregnancy and impending parenthood to a baby who will barely be walking and a newborn.

"Dadadada!" Mia called through the baby monitor as we lay in the living room. She had been babbling away for a few minutes now but hadn't called for us yet so we let her be to play with her stuffed frog.

Edward groaned from his position between my legs with his head resting on my thigh as he talked to the baby. "I don't know why that child calls for me every day when she clearly needs you for her meals." He groaned as he placed a gentle kiss on my exposed stomach then my lips before leveraging himself up and heading towards the nursery and our babbling daughter.

I tugged my tank top back down to cover the small bump that has become fairly prominent over the past few weeks. I was now twenty weeks along and we had just had another doctors' appointment and things were still wonderful with our wonderful bundle of joy. I was wearing a pair of my favorite yoga shorts that seemed to get smaller and tighter every day but I still managed to get them on and be comfortable in them. I had paired the white shorts with a blue and white striped maternity tank top that we had picked up after our last doctors' appointment. It would be obvious as soon as someone saw me that I was pretty pregnant. I think it would be a shock for them to learn that we are heading into our sixth month of pregnancy. "Here's mama." Edward said as he carried Mia into the living room.

I sat up on the couch and reached for her as she lunged from Edwards arms towards me. "Is mama's girl hungry?" I asked her as I situated her against my breast where she latched on immediately. I had been worried about breastfeeding while pregnant but after a lot of internet searching and talking with Dr. Foster I had decided to go ahead and nurse Mia until the end of my pregnancy and then I would nurse the new baby. With Mia eating more and more solid foods I didn't think it would be difficult to wean her from breastfeeding, I was just worried about her being jealous of the new baby breastfeeding but we would cross that bridge when we came to it.

Edward rolled his eyes as Mia suckled away making slurping noises and all. Emmett would be proud. A loud knock on the door startled all of us. "Where's your nursing cover?" Edward asked as he looked around and I got Mia calmed back down from her fright.

"Shhh angel, it's okay, finish eating." I told her as I pointed to the hook by the door where my nursing cover up hung.

Edward brought it to me and I slipped it over my head and over Mia's body as Edward went to open the door. By the time Mia finished eating the entire clan was here and she was ready to play and show off her new tricks she had mastered just the other day. I sat Mia down in the floor before standing up winking at Edward as I went to hang the cover up back on the hook.

I smiled when I turned around because I knew people were about to get another huge shock. We would be adding one more to the mix before Valentines' Day next year. Our actual due date was January 22 but we would wait and see because Dr. Foster said that with Bella's severe beatings as a child it could affect how long she could carry the baby but we were hopeful none the less.

The first gasp I heard was from Emmett no less as he came to a halt in front of me. He was on all fours with Rylie, Ashlynn, and Brooklyn on his back holding onto his shirt. "Bells?" He asked quietly.

I smiled and nodded holding a finger to my lips telling him to keep it quiet and see how long it took everybody else to figure it out. He nodded back and mouthed 'congrats' before continuing his trip around the living room. I headed into the kitchen where the women were all gathered getting lunch together. I heard several gasps before I barely made it into the room. "Bella? Sissy? Sweetheart?" They all echoed.

I smiled and spread my hands over my stomach just as Edward wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. "Guys I would like to introduce Matthew Rylan to everybody. He is a little over five months baked and should present himself after the first of the year." Edward said as he too cradled my stomach where our baby boy rested safe and sound.

Rounds of congratulations echoed around the room as I got dizzy from all the hugs of congratulations. Jasper was the one swinging me when I felt my stomach start to lurch. "Jazz! You gotta let go of me!" I called to him as I tapped him repeatedly on the shoulders. He immediately let me go as Edward shoved the kitchen trash can if front of me and all I could do is bend over and hurl my lunch up.

Edward wiped my forehead with a cool rag that I had no idea where it came from but was grateful for it none the less. "Sorry, guys." I told them when I was done as Edward led me to my favorite barstool to sit down.

Before anybody could say anything else Mia came crawling into the kitchen chattering "Dadadadada!" and gaining everybody's attention.

Esme clapped her hands over her mouth in amazement. "She's crawling and talking?" She asked as she walked around the bar to watch Mia crawl over to Edward before sitting back on her bottom and reaching her hands up for him. "Dadadada." She called again with her bottom lip stuck out.

I just laughed at her antics when Edward swooped down and scooped her up in his arms causing her to squeal in excitement and joy. "Daddy's girl is getting so big, isn't she?" Edward cooed to her causing her to laugh out loud at the attention she was getting.

I turned around to face the rest of the room. "She's been trying to crawl for a little over a month now but finally took off day before yesterday and hasn't stopped since then and she's been babbling 'dada' for a few weeks now but it is getting more frequent." I told Esme as I snatched a piece of garlic bread off the plate in front of me. We were having spaghetti and meatballs with cheesy garlic bread for dinner.

Over dinner we explained how we come to find out about baby Rylan and how we didn't know about him for over four months. Surprisingly enough one of the big discussion topics was whether I was going to continue to breastfeed throughout my pregnancy. It was a boisterous affair as we all sat around the dinner table with all the children in high chairs and laps and babies in car seats.

I cringed when they sung the birthday song to me because several of my family members sounded like strangled cats singing and the kids' only knew how to say certain words of the song but it was the thought that counts. "Make wish, B." Brooklyn said as she eyed all the candles on my cake eagerly.

I smiled and closed my eyes before cracking one open and looking at Rylie. "What should I wish for Rylie?" I asked her in a funny voice.

She clapped and said what sounded like "Toys."

I smiled and nodded before shutting my eyes again and taking a deep breath to make my wish and blow my candles out. When I said my wish I blew as hard as I could to get all the candles blown out and when I was out of breath I opened my eyes to see all the candles smoking and Edward smirking.

I shook my head at him before divvying up the cake and ice cream onto platters to be passed around the table.

Later that night Edward and I were lying in bed discussing the baby and Mia. "When are you going to start introducing Mia to a bottle again?" Edward asked as he rested his hand on our son who was resting comfortably inside of me for the moment.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I want her to still be fed my breast milk, she deserves that, and I really enjoy the bond between the two of us that nursing gives us." I told him honestly as I stroked my fingers through the strands of his hair.

He nodded in understanding. "Maybe you can pump for just one meal a day starting out that way she still gets the milk but it weans her from you slowly before the baby gets here." He suggested as he stroked around my stomach.

I nodded. "I've thought about doing that but we will need to buy some new bottles and nipples." I told him softly.

"Okay, baby, whenever you are ready we will start the process. Maybe it will be fairly easy because I will get to feed her now and she can have some more daddy time." He told me with a small laugh.

I laughed out loud. "Lord that's all that child needs! She is already a daddy's girl this is just going to make it worse." I told him laughing hysterically.

He tickled my sides as he got up on his knees between mine and blew raspberries on my bare stomach causing me to laugh even harder. "Stop! Stop! Please!" I screamed begging him to end his merciless tickles.

He shook his head and continued tickling me. "Nope." He said with a shit eating cocky grin plastered on his face.

"I'm gonna pee all over me and you both if you don't stop." I told him between peals of laughter.

He stopped immediately holding his hands up. "Okay, please don't pee on us." He said seriously as he sat back on his ankles. "You are beautiful, baby." He whispered as he reached forward and tucked a piece of stray hair behind my ear.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I'm fat and bloated and swollen everywhere." I told him honestly.

He shook his head at me. "You are pregnant with our son and are doing everything within your powers to keep him safe for a few more months and to me that makes you the most beautiful woman on the planet." He said as he stroked from my chin to my hips and back again.

I smiled up at him. "Prove it." I told him huskily as his fingers made a trip around my sensitive breasts causing my nipples to pebble under his touch immediately.

He smiled as he tugged my tank top that was bunched up underneath my breast the rest of the way off, taking my sleeping nursing bra with it leaving me bare to the cool air in the room causing my nipples to harden even further. "I'll prove it all right. You better brace yourself, Isabella Masen."

I groaned as he leaned forward and ran the pad of his tongue across my hardened sensitive nipples. I threaded my fingers through his hair and tugged him closer. "Oh Edward!" I panted as the spring within me wound tighter and tighter just from his simple touches.

He smiled around my nipple as he let it go with a loud pop before sitting back on his haunches. "I want you to see what I see." He said cryptically as he tugged me up until I was kneeling on the bed facing the dresser that held a huge mirror on top of it. With us balanced on the bed I had a perfect view of myself in the mirror and I groaned when I saw it all so exposed. "Edward…" I complained as I wrapped my arms around my breasts shielding them from view.

He shook his head and maneuvered around behind me. "You don't see yourself clearly, Isabella." He said as he tugged his boxers down my legs along with my panties until I was bare naked in between him and the mirror.

"Edward." I complained again but he shook his head.

He stripped himself of his clothes also and I watched unabashedly in the mirror with a smile on my face. I watched as my tell tall blush crept up on my cheeks and spread down to my chest. "That is one of the most beautiful things about you." He said as he climbed back on the bed behind me but not quite touching me.

"What is? My obnoxious blushing?" I asked rolling my eyes at his absurdity.

He nodded and pressed himself flush against my back. "Absolutely. You blush lets me know when you are not only embarrassed but also when you are extremely turned on." He said as he trailed a finger through my blushing areas from my cheeks to the top of my breasts. "I love it as much as I love you." He said as he peppered kisses all along my shoulders and neck causing me to tilt my head and groan in agony.

"What else?" I asked him looking at us in the mirror and smiling slightly at the sexy picture we made.

He smiled between his kisses. "I've always been a boob man when it came to you and now is no different." He reached around and unwound my arms from around my breasts so he could cup them gently in his hands stroking my nipples with his thumbs. "They are so full with milk for Mia and Rylan and so sensitive to my touch. I love watching you nurse our daughter when she eats, it is magical. Your nipples harden at the slightest touch from me and have turned the most beautiful dusty rose color since you started nursing. They are absolutely beautiful." He whispered as he stroked them.

I rolled my eyes. "They are swollen and starting to sag. I have stretch marks on them already." I told him pointing to the faint lines along the sides of my breasts.

He shook his head quickly. "You are a mother and these are signs that you are doing a fabulous job raising our daughter and will do a fabulous job raising our son too when he gets here." He said stroking the stretch marks. "These lines show me that you care more about our daughters health than about vanity. I think these marks are sexy as hell." He said as he ducked under my arm and placed a kiss on them.

I groaned and leaned back into him some more. "What else?" I asked huskily as I was extremely turned on.

He smiled as he placed a kiss behind my ear and cradled our son in his hands. "This is where our son lays protected by you. You are giving him nourishment and a safe place to rest his head so he can grow big and strong." He said as he rubbed all around my hard bump. "Your skin absolutely glows now that you are pregnant." He said as he trailed his fingers down to my hips.

I groaned because they were slowly starting to spread in preparation of the baby's birth.

"I always thought I was a boob man until I saw this in those tight yoga shorts you wear around here these days. Your ass looks fabulous in them." He said as he ground himself against said ass.

He ran his hand down from my stomach to my soaked center. "Always so responsive and so wet. I can turn you on with just a look now and I love that you respond so quickly and eagerly." He said as he rand a finger through my wet folds causing me to groan in agonizing pleasure.

"Edward please." I begged him as I reached behind me and grabbed onto his hair as he placed open mouthed kisses all along my neck and shoulders arousing me even more. I didn't know which one I was turned on more by. His words or his touch, they were running a pretty close race.

He smiled and maneuvered his hips until his length was between my legs resting against my wet folds. "I love to hear my name roll of your lips."

I nodded and reached between us as I leaned forward on the bed a little and placed his tip at my entrance before sinking back on it causing a groan and sigh to fall from both of our lips. "Oh God, Edward." I told him as I fell face down on the bed giving him a delicious view of us joined and my ass.

"Un uh, I want you to watch yourself as you come undone in my arms." He said as he tugged me back up against his chest. He knee walked us to the head of the bed where we still had a perfect view in the mirror. "Hold on tight and keep your eyes open." He said as he leaned back gripping my hips in his hands before pulling out and slamming all the way back in in one smooth motion.

I couldn't believe the amount of pleasure both the angle and watching us gave me. "Edward." I groaned as I felt my eyes close involuntarily as I got closer to the edge.

He stopped still once his hips were flush against mine. "Un uh, Isabella, open those beautiful brown eyes and watch us." He whispered in my ear huskily.

I groaned and forced my eyes open again and was shocked at how black his eyes looked in the mirror when our gazes clashed. He smiled crookedly at me before pulling all the way out and slamming back in forcefully causing my mouth to hang open silently as my orgasm ripped through my entire body causing me shake relentlessly.

After we finally settled down in the bed I was worn out and my legs were still shaking from the amazing orgasms that he had given me and I fully believed that I was pregnant and that I was beautiful in his eyes and mine.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 (2734)

I sat with Mia on my lap as we waited on Dr. Foster to come check on Rylan. "Can you say Mama?" I teased her as she stood on my legs bouncing.

"Dadadadada!" She said rather loudly.

I giggled and shook my head. "No, mama!" I told her as I leaned forward and rubbed my nose against hers. She really was a gorgeous baby with her dark brown curls bouncing around her head. She had a lot of hair to only be eight months old.

Unfortunately, Edward wasn't with us for this appointment because he had been contacted to come look at some horses in South Carolina. It was an offer we couldn't refuse as it would bring us a lot of future revenue and business so he had reluctantly boarded a plane to South Carolina a few hours ago leaving only me, Mia, and Esme for the doctors' appointment. He would be back in time for Thanksgiving and that is what really mattered to me, not this doctors' appointment. It wasn't a big deal, I was just getting checked, measured, and listening to the heartbeat to make sure everything was right on track with Rylan and mommy. I had told him that I would be fine going by myself since there was not an ultrasound to be done this time just a routine checkup but he had been adamant that someone come with me. Plus we had been coming every week for almost a month now. I was officially thirty weeks pregnant as of yesterday so the end was nearing quicker than either of us thought it would.

Mia copied my actions and shook her head saying "No, dadada!" with a smile on her face.

Esme just laughed as she flipped through a magazine sitting in the chair beside the exam table. "She is definitely a daddy's girl." She snickered.

I snorted because I knew it was true. "It's only gotten worse since he gets to bottle feed her at lunch. She won't even look at me when it comes to lunch time. She is all about daddy."

Esme just laughed before laying the magazine down and reaching for Mia who went easily into her Nana's arms. "Are we still doing the traditional Thanksgiving at yours and Edward's house?" She asked as she changed Mia's diaper for me.

I nodded with giddiness. "Yeah, I can't wait." I told her excitedly just as there was a knock on the door and I called out. "Come in."

Dr. Foster walked in looking glamorous as ever but with a friendly smile on her face. "How are my favorite patients?" She said as she sat the chart down to tickle Mia's sides causing her to squeal in laughter.

I just laughed. "Missing her daddy, apparently." I snorted as I turned Mia around to face the doctor and right on cue she started chanting "Dadadadada!" while kicking her legs in enjoyment.

We all laughed at her. "Where is daddy, today?" Dr. Foster asked curiously.

I groaned. "On a business trip. He will be back tomorrow night thankfully." I told her as I handed Mia to Esme and went to walk around the change curtain to strip my clothes off. "Let's get this show on the road!" I said as I hopped back up on the table a few minutes later.

"Mia and I are going to step around the curtain for this bit to give you some privacy, sweetheart." Esme said as she stepped behind the change curtain.

"Thanks, Ma." I called to her.

The rest of the appointment went great. Rylan has a strong heartbeat of 162 beats per minute and is growing right on schedule. It eased my mind some to hear my baby boys heart beat so strong and healthy. So far this pregnancy has been super easy on me and baby Rylan and I had no problems so far and I was super happy about that part. Before we left the office, Dr. Foster caught me and pulled me into her office for a quick chat. "Is something wrong?" I asked her as I eased down in one of her chairs.

She shook her head. "No, nothing is wrong Bella, I just wanted to let you know that even if you did go into labor in the next few weeks that your son will be okay. He is very healthy and so are you. I just wanted to ease your mind a bit because I know you are worried about going into labor early and Rylan not making it. That is no longer a needed worry, he will survive being born from this point forward. Have you still been having Braxton Hicks contractions regularly?" She asked as she sat down in her chair behind her desk.

I nodded. "Yeah, I mostly have them of an evening when I'm settling down for the night. It's almost like it's his way of getting attention from mommy." I told her rubbing my stomach.

She nodded and added that to the chart. "I didn't want to say this in front of your mother but I think it would be best to refrain from sexual activity so that we don't encourage labor to come early. Okay?" She asked.

I nodded. "Okay, I will tell Edward when he gets home tomorrow. Is that it?" I asked her eager to get out of here and back home.

She nodded and came to help me up from the chair. "Absolutely. See you guys next week." She said as we walked out the door to her office.

A few hours later, Esme was driving us home as I sang along to John Legend's 'All of You' from the passenger seat and Mia gurgled playing with her toys in the backseat of the SUV. "You sure are momma's sweet angel aren't you?" I teased her tickling the bottom of her feet.

She laughed and shook her head sending her few curls flying. "Dadadada!" I smiled and shook my head at her.

Esme just laughed as she pulled to a stop at the red light. "Have you guys figured out the new nursery bit yet?" She asked as she turned to look at me.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we are just going to move the office out to the barn, Edward built a room out there for it so that we don't have to keep switching it around whenever we have kids." I told her as I rubbed my stomach gently trying to calm Rylan down, he was really moving around in there today.

She nodded. "That's a great idea. What about colors? Gonna do it similar to Mia's room?" She asked as we headed on down the road. We had been arguing about colors and designs for months now but we had finally settled on a simplistic design just like Mia's room, except the wall would be painted a shocking bright orange with a light gray on the other walls while the furniture would be shockingly white.

Before I could answer her I was thrown into her by something forcefully hitting the side of her new SUV. I grabbed my stomach protectively. "Are you okay?" Esme asked as I felt her hands run over me gently.

I groaned and nodded. "Yeah, I think so." I told her over Mia's screams from the back seat. "Mia, it's okay baby girl, momma's here." I told her as I tried to sit up but couldn't move my legs because they were pinned by something. "Ma, I can't move my legs, they are stuck." I told her in a panic. "Can you get out and get Mia?" I asked her as I stroked my stomach trying to calm myself down to keep Rylan safe.

I heard her groan. "I think so." I watched her out the corner of my eye as she pushed against the door fruitlessly. "I think the door is jammed." She said frustrated.

I groaned out loud. "Can you climb through the window or over me? Something?" I begged her as a sudden pain ripped through my stomach causing me to scream out loud at the intensity of it.

"I'm gonna put this over your head sweetheart, I have to break the window to get out." She said as she tossed one of Mia's blankets over my head seconds before I heard glass shattering. "Okay, sweetheart just hold on, I hear the ambulance and fire truck." She said as she tugged the blanket back off my head and place it on the door so she could climb out without cutting herself.

"Ma'am are you okay?" I heard some guy ask as she climbed out the window with a few grunts.

Their conversation became more and more distant as the pain from my stomach and legs radiated out more and more intense before everything finally became black.

"Miss, can you hear me?" I heard some woman ask me.

I groaned and tried to nod. "Don't move, sweetheart. Can you open your eyes for me?" She asked. I opened them a crack before whispering hoarsely. "My babies." I ground out as pain ripped through my stomach.

The nurse leaned over me and cradled my face. "Your daughter has a broken arm and she is getting fitted for a cast right now, her arm was wedged between her car seat and the door when that drunk hit you. Your other baby will be just fine, we have given you some magnesium sulfate to stop your contractions so we are waiting for that to work. His heartbeat is strong and steady." She said pointing to the monitor on the side that had his heart rate on it.

I sighed a sigh of relief. "My husband?" I asked her again.

She smiled and nodded. "He didn't want to leave your side once you got here but your daughter demanded his attention so he is with her getting her cast fitted to her little arm."

I smiled at her with tears in my eyes. "Okay, can we see our son once he gets finished with Mia?" I asked her wanting to see for myself that he was okay.

She smiled and nodded. "Absolutely, Dr. Foster will be in here as soon as your husband and daughter are finished. Both of them came in when they heard that you were in an accident." She told me with a smile.

"Okay, thank you. What all happened to me? I couldn't get out." I asked her as I forced my eyes to stay open despite the heaviness weighing them down.

"From what I understand from the EMT's is that your legs were pinned between the seat and the dash with the door pushing in on you. Nothing is broken so you are very luck. Now we just have to concentrate on getting your contractions stopped." She explained quietly as I closed my eyes to try to calm both myself and the baby down.

The next thing I heard was Edward begging me to wake back up so we could look at our son together. "Bella? Please wake up, baby. Nurse Irons said that you were talking and asking about all of us a little bit ago. Please wake up so we can look at our son together. I love you, Isabella, so very much."

I groaned as I tried to force my eyes open before everything became black again just as I heard Edward scream. "DOC! DOC! SOMETHING'S WRONG!"

It seemed like days and weeks were passing as each member of my family begged me to open my eyes and come back to them.

Alice. "Bella, I have known you for a little over a year now and you are one of the strongest woman I know and I know you can kick this coma's ass like no other. We are all waiting patiently for you to do that. I need you to throw on your superwoman cape and kick this coma's ass because I need my baby sister back and my babies need to their aunt B back also. Brook and Alyssa ask about you every day, Bella. They even finger painted you some beautiful pictures that we have hanging on the walls here to liven this place up some. We had the traditional Thanksgiving at your s and Edward's house in honor of you but it wasn't the same without you there. We all need you, Bella. Please come back to us soon. I love you, sissy."

Rosalie. "I don't know about you, Bella, but this hospital is so very dreary it's not even funny. Edward has done amazing things to this room to make it look more like home. You know that man is rather amazing and has jumped leaps and bounds for you. This room isn't the normal hospital room, it's one of those high end birthing suites that you always said was way too much money but he tried to sell his ranch to George and Norma to pay for this. You apparently have made a huge impression on them because they are the ones bank rolling this awesome suite for you and told Edward to basically shove his offer up his ass. Edward and Mia have moved in here with you. He rarely leaves unless it is to take Mia downstairs to play or something. That's where he is at right now. They are thinking that Rylan will come any day now so we may have a Christmas baby after all. You did amazing taking care of that little boy but he needs his momma when he gets here. Edward let's Mia sleep beside you every day for her nap because she won't sleep anywhere else. Even though this room is amazing I am tired of looking at this hospital every day so you need to wake your ass up so we can all get out of here. Do it for Edward, Mia, and Rylan. Do it for all of us. I don't give a shit who you do it for just do it already."

Esme. "Oh sweetheart, I am so very sorry for causing all of this. You are missing so very much because of me. Please come back to us sweetheart. We all need you. This world just isn't the same without you in it. Christmas is tomorrow sweet girl and it looks like we will have a Christmas baby after all but it would be even better if you woke up and joined us for the celebration. It is also Mia's first Christmas and she needs her momma. She also has a surprise for you whenever you wake up that will make your day. I love you sweet girl, I will talk to you tomorrow."

Carlisle. "I don't want to be the stern father figure here but I am going to give it a shot. Isabella Marie Swan Cullen Masen, you need to wake your ass up and rejoin this family. We all miss you." He laughed lightly. I could picture him shaking his head while laughing. "I don't think that turned out very well but we really do miss you and need you back. Spring is blossoming again and you love that time of year. Gypsy is missing you, he is getting fat without you around to ride but he had Aladdin to keep him company since Edward never goes home anymore. We all need you back sweetheart, the world isn't the same without your smiling face in it. I love you, sweet girl please come back to us."

It was like I was having a dream watching someone pulled my baby from my between my legs and hand him off to someone who was holding a blue surgical cloth. "He's tiny but strong. Thank goodness we gave him those steroid shots a few days ago. Merry Christmas Matthew Rylan Masen. You are a heck of a Christmas present for your parents."

"Yeah, it is a very good thing. Does anyone know when the mother will wake up?"

"No, they say it could be anytime. She's been in a coma for over two months now so her injuries are all healed up and she has a beautiful daughter and an amazing husband that need her and now a beautiful son too. So hopefully it's soon."

I moaned out loud and heard a rather quick BEEP..BEEP..BEEP..BEEP..BEEP. "She's coming to!" I heard someone say excitedly.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 (2341)

I moaned again before someone placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hold on, Isabella, you have a breathing tube down your throat. Let me remove that for you okay?"

I moaned again because I wanted nothing more than for it to be out so I could see my baby. "I need you to cough for me, okay?"

I moaned again and coughed as the tube was removed from my throat. "Rylan?" I asked hoarsely as I blinked open my eyes.

The nurse smiled at me from above me. "He's with his daddy right now. You are in recovery from the delivery. We didn't expect you to wake up today but it is perfect timing isn't it. This is a great Christmas present for your entire family. They are all here waiting to meet Rylan." She said as she wiped my lips and chin with a damp rag.

"What happened?" I asked hoarsely as she placed a straw in my mouth and instructed me to sip slowly.

She wiped my face with the damp rag as she explained that I had been given medications to make me go into labor and to relax my muscles enough so I could have a natural childbirth because they were worried about infection and me healing with the C-section option. I was elated that I had been able to have him naturally but kind of disappointed that I didn't remember any of it. "Thank you. Do you know why I was in a coma to begin with?" I asked her quietly.

She explained that apparently my body had decided that I needed time to recuperate so I had went into a coma for almost a month. She also explained that with the help of my family that my muscles may be a little weak but I should be able to move around fairly easily albeit a little slowly for the first few days. "Are you ready to meet your son and see your husband and family?"

I nodded eagerly. It took a little bit getting settled back in the room Edward had arranged for us but it would all be worth it when I could see my family again. I gazed around the hotel like suite while the nurse went to get Edward and our children. The room was huge and I spotted a crib against the far wall with a rocking chair beside it along with a long dresser that had all kinds of things littered on top of it, including a changing pad for Mia. There were flowers, stuffed animals, pictures and cards scattered all around the room on every available surface. On the walls were deflated balloons along with a variety of paintings presumably from all of my nieces and nephews. I spied a huge bathtub through the open door to the bathroom along with some baby bath toys. It was obvious that Edward and Mia both were living here full time as their things were scattered everywhere along with mine. The bed in the room was amazing. It was a queen size bed with the same sheets and bedding that was on our bed at home before the accident. All of the medical equipment was hidden in cabinets and drawers to make it feel more like home.

The next thing I heard was a combination of the sweetest sounds in the world, my son crying, my husband crying and my baby girl chattering. "Mama?" She asked as I felt her hands on my face.

"Mama up?" She asked me with wide eyes when I opened my eyes up and smiled at her. Her smile was so bright that it brought tears to my eyes.

I nodded at her and held my trembling hand out to her. She had really grown in the past ten weeks. "Yes, Mia, mama's up." I told her as I reached for her. Edward sat her gently on the bed beside me before sitting in front of her so he could see my face while he cradle Rylan in his arms. Then it dawned on me that she had said 'Mama' for the first time, well at least the first time I am hearing it. "She said momma!" I said excitedly.

"Hi, my love, and yes she can say Momma quite well now." He said with tears streaming down his cheeks as he leaned forward and kissed my lips gently.

I smiled against his lips. "Hi, my loves. Can I hold him?" I asked him hoarsely.

He nodded and laid Rylan in my arms. "He's perfect, Bells, absolutely perfect." He told me quietly as we all gazed at the now sleeping baby in my arms.

I smiled at him before looking down at Mia as she snuggled into my side gently. "Mia?" I asked her quietly getting her attention.

She immediately perked up and looked up at me with her bright blue eyes that were shining with tears. "Mama up?" She asked again almost like she didn't believe it.

I handed Rylan back to Edward before patting my lap. "Yes, Mia, mama's up. Come here sweet girl." I told her as I guided her into my lap gently ever mindful of my sore lower half that was coming back to life. "I love you, Mia Isabel, and I will never leave you again. I promise baby girl. Have you got to open your presents yet?" I asked her with a smile on my face despite the tears in my eyes.

She shook her head like I remember her doing all those months ago. "Dada no." She said looking back at him with her bottom lip stuck out.

I smiled at her and flipped her bottom lip. "Momma says yes." I smiled at her as I tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "We need to get Nana and Poppy and everybody in here so we can all open Christmas presents." I told Edward while stroking Mia's hair and cherubic face. It was hard to believe that I had missed out on over two months of her life and she was about to be a year old in a few weeks. Her ringlets were getting so long they almost touched her shoulders now. She had a huge purple flower clip in her hair holding some of her curls over to the side that matched her purple tunic top that was paired with black tights and black fuzzy boots.

I smiled as her eyes began getting heavy but she was fighting it so hard. "Lay down here, angel." I whispered to her as I pulled her to me so she rested her head on my chest and curled her fingers in my gown that I was wearing. I smiled as I heard her mumble "Mama" softly before taking a deep breath that signaled she was going to sleep.

I looked up to see Edward smiling serenely at us with tears streaming down his cheeks. "What's wrong, Edward?" I asked him quietly as I reached a hand out for him.

He rearranged and settled down us down in the bed with Rylan propped against his knees and Mia sleeping against my chest. "You know she's slept in this bed beside you every single day since the accident. She suddenly became a momma's girl instead of a daddy's girl." He whispered to me as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders tugging me more firmly against his side. "I love you, Isabella." He whispered against the side of my head.

I smiled and whispered back. "I love you too, Edward, with all my heart. You and our kids is what brought me back."

It was chaotic to say the least when everybody else came in the room and found out that I wanted to have Christmas that day. They were all begging me to wait until I got home from the hospital or at least felt better but I was adamant that even though it was not traditional like we had last year that the kids at least deserved to open their presents on Christmas day like any other child. Emmett agreed whole heartedly on that one, since he was the biggest kid of us all. By the time the presents were opened, dinner was ate by everyone but me, and the trash tossed away I was absolutely exhausted but I wanted a shower before going to bed. I just felt nasty but I also felt extremely weak from having walked from the bed to the rocker across the room and sitting there for a few hours while the kids opened their presents. I was just exhausted from having been in bed for ten weeks and really just now putting any pressure on my bones and muscles even though they had done the ROM exercises several times a day according to the nurses.

"Do you want help getting cleaned up and ready for bed, sweet girl?" Esme asked as she sat on the floor beside my chair.

I shrugged. "I don't know if I can take a shower or not." I told her honestly. We had had a long talk earlier about the accident while Edward went with the guys to get all the presents and food that Esme had made for them. Apparently it was the first time in over two weeks that he had left the hospital and the first time in two months that he's been to our house. She had felt guilty and like this was all her fault and I felt like it was my fault because I was the whole reason we were in Cheyenne that day.

She smiled and nodded. "I asked the nurse earlier and she said you could take either a bath or a shower. It is all up to you since you didn't tear while giving birth to that precious baby of yours and have no stitches." She explained to me with a smile on my face.

"How long has it been since I've been washed?" I asked her with a grimace on my face.

She smiled. "Yesterday. Edward gave you a bath every night. They have a portable tub that they brung in here every night and he just picked you up and let you soak in the water while giving you a bath. He refused to let anybody else do it and knew you would feel nasty with just sponge baths." She explained with a soft smile on his face.

I shook my head at the ridiculousness of his actions but my heart also swelled at everything he done for me while I was unconscious. "I would love to sit down and soak in a hot tub of water, can I do that since I had Rylan vaginally?" I asked her quietly not wanting everyone to know about this embarrassing conversation.

She nodded. "There is. Come on, let's get you in the bathroom so we can get you into bed." She said as she stood from the floor and held a hand out to me to help me up.

Having a private shower felt absolutely amazing to both my sore muscles and bones but also to my skin, I sat on that bench letting the water hit me on the back as I leaned forward to just let it run down my back before leaning back and getting the rest of me. "Bella, sweetheart, are you okay in there? You've been in there for almost thirty minutes." I heard Esme say.

I groaned. "I'm fine, just enjoying the water. Let me scrub down and wash my hair and I will be ready to get out." I called back to her. My throat felt a million times better than it had this morning but that was thanks to all the water, broth, and soup I had been drinking today. I had wanted a huge hamburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake for lunch but the doctors told me that we would have to introduce solid foods back into my diet slowly since I had been on a vitamin enriched adult formula since being in the coma. I had reluctantly agreed and ate whatever warmed up liquid they brought me.

I ran my fingers through my shortened hair and frowned. I didn't really like it but I had been told that it had been a necessity to help take care of it. It was short compared to what I was used to, it sat right below my chin. After I scrubbed myself clean and rinsed my hair out yet again I turned off the water and opened the shower curtain. "Ahh!" I screamed in surprise to see Edward standing there holding a towel out for me. "You scared the crap out of me." I told him as I gripped the hand rails and half pulled half pushed myself up into a standing position allowing him to wrap the towel around my body before tucking it in right at my breasts.

"Sorry, love, Ma is getting in some night time snuggles from Mia and Rylan while I get some loving from their mother." He said as he bent down and swept me into his arms.

"Edward, I need to walk." I protested as he sat me on a folded towel on top of the bathroom counter which placed me just eye level with him.

He smiled and nodded. "I know and you can walk to the bedroom but right now I want you to brush your teeth while I brush mine then we are going to have a serious make out session before we go back in that room." He said winking at me.

I laughed at him as he handed me my toothbrush and toothpaste. I did as he requested and scrubbed my teeth which felt a million times better now that I had scrubbed them myself. Once I was done I spotted my lip gloss on the counter and snatched it up applying it vigorously to my dry lips before smacking my lips lightly. "All ready." I told him when I looked over and saw him smiling crookedly at me from his side of the counter.

He walked slowly to me before spreading my legs apart and stepping in between them until we were flush against each other.


	30. Epilogue

Chapter 30 ()

I stood looking down at my baby girl and I couldn't believe she was turning three years old today. It was amazing how much has changed in the past three years but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. "Good morning, my birthday girl, can you wake up for momma?" I asked her as I reached in the crib and patted her back softly. She had refused to sleep in a toddler bed until her 'bubby' did as well and now that we were expecting our third child I could just imagine the arguments she could come up with.

I smiled as she moaned and stretched before rolling over and looking up at me with her bright blue eyes. "Momma, I peepee." She said as she held her arms up for me to pick her up. I reached down and scooped her up out of the crib before taking her to the bathroom since we were in the middle of potty training.

I smiled when I heard the telltale tinkle as she peed. "Good job, baby girl. You wanna go wake daddy while I get brother?" I asked her when I had zipped her pajamas back up.

She nodded and took off down the hall and into our room. I smiled as I heard her giggles echo from our bedroom making a detour into the kitchen for a bottle before going into Rylan's room. It still amazed me every day that he was a year old as of a few weeks ago but he was such a gorgeous baby with my hair color but his daddy's wildness and eyes. I walked into his room to see him standing up running his stuffed tractor round and round the top of his baby bed. "Mama, I hungry." He said as soon as he saw me. It was nice to know that he was a momma's baby since Mia was a daddy's baby. I wonder what the next baby will be, maybe a split of both. I was just over four months pregnant and we were super excited to find out what the sex of the baby is but we were going to have to wait until tomorrow since that is when our doctor's appointment was scheduled for. Dr. Foster was our doctor again and she was mildly worried about me going into labor this time around since last time it had sent me into a coma for almost a month.

I smiled at my handsome little boy as he bounced up and down in his crib in excitement of getting to run free. "Good morning, sweet pea." I told him as I scooped him up in my arms and laid him on the changing table to change his diaper.

He chattered between chews of his fist as I changed his diaper. He was a hungry boy and I had his bottle waiting for him. As much as I had wanted to breastfeed him again, Edward and I decided against it since I was so weak from being in the coma and all of the medications I was on during it. "Let's get you fed so we can celebrate sissy's birthday today." I told him as I settled in the chair beside his crib and popped the bottle in his mouth. He only got a bottle of milk in the morning the rest of the day he was on sippy cups.

He sucked the bottle down greedily and went right back to chewing on his fist which was his way of saying 'Mom I'm still hungry'. I laughed at him as I scooped him up and headed in the kitchen. I sat him in his high chair with some sliced banana, apricots, and cheerios along with a cup of juice. "Who wants breakfast?!" I called towards our bedroom.

I immediately heard feet running down the hall towards the kitchen before skidding to a stop right at the bar. "We do! We do!" Edward and Mia both said loudly.

I laughed at them and went about making chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon. "Alright. Love, will you put her in her chair and give her a cup of milk please? Her pancake is almost done." I told Edward while making silly faces at Mia who got a huge grin on her face at the sound of her favorite food.

"Absolutely, after we say good morning to the baby." He said as he knelt in front of me with Mia in his arms and raised my shirt up to show my protruding stomach. I was huge this time around for only being four months pregnant but I just shrugged it off.

I smiled as I heard them tell the baby good morning and that they couldn't wait to find out what it was so they could quit calling it and it.

Breakfast was always fun around here as Edward helped Mia eat while I helped Rylan eat but it was our time alone as a family.

As soon as I sat the first dish down in the sink there was a knock on the front door. I just knew that it would be Alice who had turned into party planner extraordinaire with all of the birthday's we had in this family. "Come in!" I called out to them as I rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

"Where's the birthday girl?" I heard Alice call from the living room.

"Aunt B! Aunt B!" Brooklyn and Alyssa chanted as Alice fought with them to take their shoes off.

As soon as they were turned lose they tackled my legs. I picked them up and sat them on the bar so we could bake Mia's cake for today. I had turned out to be quite the cook and I normally had loads of help from all the children.

"Eddie! Eddie!" Colton and Jackson hollered once they were turned loose from their mothers grip.

Once all their shoes were tossed in the basket designated for the Whitlock family Alice came into the kitchen and collapsed into a barstool. "Why did I ever agree to have more children when these four drive me insane?" She asked as she rubbed her rounded stomach. She was four months pregnant also. We had found out days apart from one another and our due dates were three days from each other so it was very possible for us to have these babies together.

I just laughed and shrugged because I loved both of my children and I was loving being pregnant again so that all of our kids were close in age. "I don't know, Ali." I told her as me and the girls measured and mixed the cake together. Alice had wanted to do a big designer cake but I had put my foot down and been adamant that my kids would at least always have a homemade birthday cake because Esme had always made sure Jasper and I had one growing up. "Have you heard from Ma lately?" I asked her because I hadn't heard from them in almost two weeks and I was wandering if they were coming today or not.

They had bought a huge Motor home a few months back and were exploring the world with it. Last I had heard they were in Florida playing in the ocean.

"No I haven't heard from them for almost a month now. I hope they are enjoying their travels they deserve it after being stuck on this ranch all these years and not having a single day off." She said as she finger combed Mia's curls that were down past her shoulders now. "Can you believe we no longer have that stupid demand of Charlie's over our heads as we celebrate everything this year?" She asked quietly and so far off topic it wasn't even funny.

I nodded in agreement but went with it anyways. "You know, it's funny that Charlie thought he was ruining all of our lives by demanding we all stay here for such a long period of time but he has really only enhanced all of our lives for the better." I told her as I rubbed my baby bump gently thinking of all the positive things that have happened since Charlie had died over three years ago.

She nodded just as Edward and all the boys walked back into the room fully dressed for the day. "I could have sworn I brought them over in pajama's, Edward?" Alice said as she looked at her fully dressed boys.

Edward nodded. "You left their clothes from the other night when they got into the finger paint. Remember?" He said motioning to the boys who were running circles around his feet. "I'm gonna go take them for a ride. Is that okay?" He asked just as Jasper walked in the door in the kitchen causing the boys to run and jump on him.

Alice nodded. "Sound perfect, that way I can get some decorating done while Bella cooks with the girls. Have fun." She said as she walked over and kissed Jasper and their boys' bye and bid them to have lots of fun but to stay warm.

Mia's third birthday was just as big of a blowout as her first and second ones was but all the kids had fun and the house was ransacked so that is all that matters. Unfortunately it was just Alice, Jasper, Edward, and I along with our kids because Rose and Emmett's kids had contracted chicken pox and weren't able to come but they sent presents anyways.

As much as we wanted to find out the sex of the baby we couldn't because it was being stubborn like it's momma and refused to cooperate. So we decided on a neutral themed nursery with white walls and one bright green wall along with white and gray striped bedding and decorations. We also came up with a name that would work for both a boy and a girl and also started with an 'M' since we already had that theme going on, Morgan Harper Masen would be out newest bundle of joy in just a few minutes it seemed like.

"Baby, are you okay?" Edward asked as he wiped my forehead with a cool damp cloth trying to soothe me the best he could.

I scowled at him. "In no way is that a smart question, Masen." I snapped at him as yet another contraction gripped my stomach causing me to clench my teeth and grip the bed sheets tightly in my hands.

Rosalie and Alice chuckled from the other side of my bed. "Edward, you might want to watch what you say if you want your balls at the end of this." Rosalie quipped as she rubbed my protruding taught stomach soothingly.

"Bella, do you want me to get Ma again?" Alice asked as she patted my hand once I released the sheets.

I nodded and took a few deep calming breaths as I thought about the changes that the past three years had brought upon me. "I think it's time."

Morgan's birth was going to be a family affair and I wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
